The Jaws of Life was used to rescue their classmate from the backseat of a mock car accident
HOUGHTON -- Students at Houghton High School watched helplessly as the Jaws of Life was used to rescue their classmate from the backseat of a bad car wreck.
Minutes later they were told she wouldn't make it...another victim of a drunk driver.
Luckily the accident wasn't real, but the point of Thursday morning’s demonstration was that it really could've happened.
"I think it kind of caught most people off-guard," said Houghton High School sophomore Connor Colling. "Seeing people we know helped us associate that it really could be any one of us."
"I wish more people could see this because there's a lot of drunk driving out there and a lot of people actually dying," said Houghton High School senior Emily Hendricks.
The Superior AmeriCorps team organized the mock accident with help from the Houghton Police Department, Hurontown Fire and Rescue, Mercy EMS, and Portage Health. It was the first time they've put on such a large event for Alcohol Awareness Month, and they hope that showing the destruction will make it seem more real.
"Everybody thinks, 'It's not going to happen to me, it's not going to happen to me or anybody I know,'" said Superior AmeriCorps member Erica Ahola. "So seeing it with people they know, even though it's just a mock accident, has more of an effect than just talking with students."
The AmeriCorps team will stage another mock accident for students at Baraga High School on April 21. They hope to continue with the demonstrations and visit different schools in the future.
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