By Coriandré Lawrence
Katie Matthewson was grief stricken and overwhelmed with self-loathing. The scene was one that she never imagined; one of her closest friends lying on the ground dead and the other was being pulled out of the wreckage, screaming and writhing in pain. Covered in blood and dirt Mathewson was bawling, her eyes brimming with tears at the reality of what had just happened. She was now being questioned by the RCMP and facing charges of manslaughter. She screamed "I wasn't even drinking, I wasn't even drinking" to the police officer but that wasn't enough to substantiate what happened. After several questions, Matthewson said she was texting, almost euphemizing the act that she said only took a second. But because of that second, a friend is dead, the other seriously injured staring death in the eyes and Mathewson is now facing life imprisonment. This didn't happen on the highway or on Main Street where one would fearfully expect but this took place in the parking lot at Gordon F. Kells High School(GFK). As tragic and morbid as the incidents were; it was all staged, thankfully.
"It was very impacting, I was the driver and although I knew it was fake; it was kind of a reality check that this could happen so easily and that it was my fault. And having the teachers and other girls yell at me and telling me it was my fault, it sunk in - that this could really happen to me," Matthewson said.
The Student 's Against Drunk Driving (SADD) group at GFK High School organized a mock crash in the school's parking lot on Thursday April 25. And at 9:55am student members of the group were rushing through the hallways screaming and shouting that there had just been a car crash. Students gathered outside as they saw the ambulance, RCMP and the fire department rush to the scene. Members of the Carlyle ambulance service attended to one student that was "dead" and the fire crew utilized the Jaws of Life to get the other "victim" out of the vehicle. Through the entire process RCMP personnel questioned the Katie Matthewson, other students and school staff, adding to the realism of the dramatization. Matthewson said having these types of events allow students to witness the reality of motor vehicle accidents without actually being involved and learn of ways to prevent it.
The mock crash has been organized and run by SADD for several s years but the staging held marked its return from a two year hiatus. The group which normally focuses on drunk driving decided to change the sequence of events this year by highlighting the dangers of texting while driving. Staff director of SADD and teacher at GFK High School Lynda Biberdorf was one of the participants in the event. She said although there was a twist to this year's mock crash with texting and distractions being the focus, alcohol still played a role in the accident. She highlighted the significance of the mock crash and its role within schools.
"I think it's important, just because alcohol and any substance abuse when you're driving - you know we are all contending with that in our high schools and we are lucky enough that we haven't lost any of our students in a while People are affected by drunk drivers all the time drinking and driving takes a lot of lives,' Biberdorf said.
According to research conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) a driver is 23 times more likely to get into a car accident if they text when they are behind the wheel. Cpl. Kelly Guider detachment commander of the Carlyle RCMP branch was involved in the staging and said the RCMP hasn't seen a lot of fatal accidents with youth due to alcohol lately. But emphasized there have been many fender benders and collisions that result from people texting and using other devices such as iPods. He spoke with the students after the demonstration and stressed the importance of driving without distractions especially for new drivers.
"The scenario is based on real events and if this should happen - I know we can play, make fun of it or laugh about it, unfortunately this does happenFor us the hardest thing, obviously - we live here, it's a small community and when we're at the scene we're going to have to arrest Katie," he said.
"We know her family; we know she's a good kid, but that one moment would have changed the life of everyone."
Fire Chief Trent Lee of the Carlyle fire department also spoke to the students telling his own story of being involved in an accident and how it impacted his life."I watched a fourteen year old girl burn to death in car crash and that changed my life forever. I came back to Saskatchewan and joined the fire department and said I will never be in that position again where I don't know what to do," Lee said.
"I still see that day, every week of my life, people don't think that happens. It was fourteen years ago but I remember what color socks she had on"
