Tuesday, April 29 – Students Observe Pre-Prom Message

BERLIN – Members of Stephen Decatur High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) recently held two mock accidents, one for juniors and one for seniors, on April 24 and 25.

These pre-prom exercises were conducted to vividly demonstrate the harmful and often fatal effects of poor choices, such as drinking and driving. In the enactment, the accident scene was created by a drunk driver, played by senior Jeff Curry, who struck and killed a pedestrian, played by senior Elizabeth Burton.

Emergency responders from the Berlin and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Companies, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department and the Maryland State Police were on the scene of the “accident,” enacted in the front parking lot of Stephen Decatur High School. The mock accident also served as a live drill for emergency responders.

At the conclusion of the “accident,” students were faced with the loss of a classmate. Students moved from the parking lot to the school’s auditorium for a mock funeral. Funeral directors from Holloway Funeral Home and a minister from Trinity Cathedral were present to assist with the realistic service. The authenticity of a funeral was captured by a flower-covered casket placed on the stage and a memorial video displaying photographs of the senior who played the victim.

Area law enforcement officials, Holloway Funeral Home directors, and other area community members spoke to students about real-life situations which resulted in fatalities caused by poor decision making. Principal Louis Taylor also spoke at the mock funeral about the difficult and devastating task of dealing with the death of a classmate.

Stephen Decatur High School senior Chelsea Leonard attended the mock accident.

“I believe that the graduating class, as well as our juniors, were given a reality check,” said Leonard. “No matter how much we think that being a teenager makes us invincible, it does not. I hope that everyone now realizes the harmful effects that everyone has to experience by poor decision making.”

For all the week’s news, see The Dispatch on Friday.