Teen drivers witness wreck on NE Tech campus

Clarice Doyle, Claremore Daily Progress, Okla.
·3 min read

Dec. 2—A mock traffic crash took on a real-life feel and sound when Katie Peters and other students enrolled in Northeast Tech's EAST program role-played victim parts in a deadly crash scene in the school parking lot on North 88.

Peters, a senior at Claremore High School, organized the Nov. 16 event, which called upon members of local and regional police, fire, EMT and even the Air Evac helicopter. The goal is to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted and impaired driving among teens.

Projects like this are part of the EAST educational experience. EAST, which stands for Education Accelerated by Service and Technology, focuses on student-driven service projects through the use of the latest in technology. EAST schools are equipped with classrooms containing state-of-the-art workstations, servers, software, and accessories, including GPS/GIS mapping tools, architectural and CAD design software, 3D animation suites, and much more.

EAST instructor Jodi Keith said students find problems in their local communities and then use these tools to solve them. EAST students spend half their school day at the NT campus.

Peters said her goal was to bring the dangers of driving while districted into focus for her peers and for parents. Service Oklahoma's website states 25% of 16-year-olds either receive a ticket or are involved in a crash during their first year of driving.

"I hope this will spark conversations at home between parents and new teen drivers," she said. "I believe with more conversations, as well as seeing the deadly impact distracted or impaired driving can have on people, that we can cut back on the amount of teen deaths we have in Oklahoma."

The project put to the test Peters' organization, leadership and promotion skills, Keith said. Peters reached out to news outlets, all emergency personnel, NT administration and the auto salvage. She also worked to pull together the students who became actors in the production and a student media team.

"She [Katie] was a rockstar in emailing and making phone calls to get the event planned. It turned out fantastic," Keith said.

While the crashed vehicles, courtesy of Claremore Auto Salvage, were staged beforehand, the response of police, fire, EMTs and even the Air Evac helicopter and crew were not. Students were made up as victims in various stages of injuries and even death. Other students were onlookers.

EAST students taking on roles in the mock crash scenario and their school included Peters, Claremore; Ryan Beck, Pryor; Hailey Pike, Sequoyah; Pieper Odle, Pryor; Rogan Kelley, Oologah; Texas Dougherty, Oologah; Tristan Biggs, Sequoyah; Landon Branstetter, Verdigris; and Zackery Standlee, Pryor.

Members of the student media team include Cambry Edwards, event photographer; Oklahoma Connections Academy; and Alexis Keesler, event videographer, Claremore High School.

Participating community agencies were Claremore Auto Salvage, Pafford EMS, Claremore Police Department, Claremore Fire and the Air Evac Lifeteam.

"We would love to thank our community partners for volunteering their time and resources to make this event happen. Giving our students a visual of what could likely play out if they choose to drive distracted is a life lesson they can carry with them forever," Keith said.

Learn more about NE Tech and the EAST program at https://www.netech.edu/apps/pages/EAST.