Fake blood, fake bruises and a fake car crash painted an all too real picture of what could happen when drivers fail to pay attention. A mock crash at Wright City High School on April 14 drilled home the message about the dangers of drinking or texting while driving with prom being held later this month and graduation in May. Sue Ell, health occupations instructor for Wright City High School, was responsible for bringing the mock crash parties together. “The mock crash allows us to promote awareness,” she said. “It’s something you don’t get in high school books. It’s realistic.” Ell said between students seeing the mock crash and watching a safe driving video in the high school gymnasium, she hopes they will take something from these experiences. “Don’t text, drink or do drugs and drive,” is the message she said. “We have a scenario here with two vehicles in which the driver in one vehicle was texting and the driver in another vehicle was drinking,” said Ralph Hellebusch, of the Warren County Ambulance District. “We’re going to have two people arrested, one in critical condition and the other will be a fatality.” Paige Ponticello served as that fatality. Head, face and back covered in gelatin-like blood, her body was lifelessly draped over the hood of the vehicle after smashing through the windshield. The texting driver of Ponticello’s vehicle was Melissa Willmore, who hoped her message was delivered to students. “My whole goal the entire time was to leave an impact,” she said. “Oh my God, I was giving every emotion I ever had. It was scary how realistic it was.” Willmore sat behind the steering wheel of a totaled, red car waiting for members of the Wright City Fire Protection District to cut through the door and pry her from the vehicle. Her face also covered in fake blood and laden with heavy bruises, Willmore screamed, cried and yelled for Ponticello to wake up. “I hope I was loud enough,” Willmore said. “(The crowd) looked impacted. I was just trying to be more and more (emotional). When I was screaming, I was looking at people in the crowd dead in the eye.” Ponticello’s mother, Stacy Ponticello, said she didn’t anticipate the mock crash being so emotional. “I expected no emotion and I cried,” she said. “I mean, we had been preparing for this all week with the kids. It makes me feel for the moms who have gone through this. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like.” Brittany Abercrombie was a passenger in the car of the drunk driver. She ran to her friend, who had been ejected from the vehicle. “It was very scary,” Abercrombie said. “I was kind of crying because what if that happened to my best friend?” She said she felt the mock crash met its purpose. “I think we got the point across,” Abercrombie said. “Why would you risk your life to put yourself in that situation? If you’re going to drink, stay where you’re at. Teenagers are going to be teenagers.” Samantha Dunakey screamed and cried from the back seat of Ponticello’s and Willmore’s vehicle. “It was pretty creepy seeing it all happen,” she said. “I think we got the message across. Pay attention on the roads because all this happened from distracted drivers.” Hellebusch said from his aspect, it was particularly emotional. “We’ve seen these kids before,” he said. “You don’t know who it is until you get there. This gives them second thoughts and if we can save one life over the next coming weeks, it’s worth it. This usually hits (the crowd), especially parents.” Wright City Deputy Mark Storzer assisted in the blood makeup and design of the crash. “I think it went very well,” he said. “I wanted to let the kids have a lot of say in the design of their makeup. When you first see the accident, some kids in the crowd will laugh or joke, but by the time it’s over, it’s somber.” Students Against Destructive Decisions Vice President Cassie Kuchler closed the afternoon’s mock crash by reading a haunting poem titled “I Went to a Party, Mom” by Poet Mike Orman. His poem is told from the perspective of a young girl, whom despite making the decision to not drink and drive, was killed by a drunk driver on her way home. It reads, “So why do people do it, Mom, knowing that it ruins lives? And now the pain is cutting me like a thousand stabbing knives...Someone should have taught him that it’s wrong to drink and drive. Maybe if his parents had, I’d still be alive.”