Triad students confront deadly reality of distracted driving before prom

A powerful demonstration of the consequences of drinking and driving.Rockingham County Emergency Services calls it Prom Promise.Students at Bethany Community School say that demonstrations like the real-life scenario they watched today opens their eyes to consequences of drinking and driving.Prom promise was created two years ago after the staff at Rockingham County High School reached out to Emergency Services Director Rodney Cates.Students watch a roughly three-minute video put together by EMS showing how they respond to a fatal crash caused by a drunk driver.Student and teacher actors play the roles of injured victims. In the video, they even flew an emergency helicopter in to fly them to the hospital.After the video, actors role-play a scene of a grieving family in front of a casket, dealing with the loss of their child after drinking and driving.Students also saw the mangled car of Ashley LeeAnn Johnson. Johnson died in 2010 while texting and driving.All of this to show how life choices affect not only victims of an impaired or distracted driving accident, it effects families, friends and entire communities. Students I spoke with say these real-life scenarios are making a difference.Ninth Grader Lucy Johnston said, “I think definitely because it shows the realism of it and the effects that it does have. A lot of people don't realize it because they're so focused on their life, but they don't realize the effect that has on people around them.”First responders are sharing their experiences from fatal crashes in an effort to keep students from drinking and driving.Rockingham County Emergency Services Director, Rodney Cates, said, “We've seen death. We've made death notifications. And we want to impress on these young people the magnitude that, that has on families, communities, schools. It is far-reaching,”Saving lives and making sure every student makes it home safe, not just on prom night, but every night.