Mock crash teaches Blue Earth Area High School students real risks of distracted driving

BLUE EARTH, Minn. (KEYC) - Students at Blue Earth Area High School and the United South Central School District got to witness a simulated crash on Wednesday, April 22, to help educate them about the real consequences of distracted driving.

The simulation showcased the results of a prom night collision between a drunk driver and another driver that was too distracted to notice them because they were on their phone.

Alexis Thompson, a senior who was a student actor in the simulation, said the scenario was impactful.

“It wasn’t just the people who were drunk who got hurt, it was especially the other car,” Thompson said.

As part of the simulation, students got to see first responders pull injured survivors from the wreck of the two vehicles, recover the body of the deceased and arrest a driver.

Principal Conan Shaffer says he hopes it can be a powerful message about the risks involved with distracted driving.

“All of our students matter to us, and the reason we do this is because they matter. And a second of distracted driving could endanger their own life or somebody else’s,” Shaffer said.

350 students from Blue Earth Area Schools and 150 from USC were in attendance.

The exercise was a collaboration between the Blue Earth Police Department, Blue Earth Fire and Rescue, United Hospital District and a group of first responders from Wanamingo.

Officer Tharen Haugh says his department has been trying to make the demonstration a semi-annual tradition.

“That one simple mistake can drastically impact your life and the people around, and to understand it isn’t something that is never going to happen, it very well could,” Haugh said.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, from 2020 to 2025, there were 33,183 distracted driving crashes across the state that resulted in 888 serious injuries and 162 deaths.

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