Students At Wyandanch H.S. Take Prom Safety Pledge
WYANDANCH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Any high school student can tell you, we are in prom season.
But as TV 10/55's Long Island Bureau Chief Richard Rose reported, prom season comes with big dangers on the roadways, as some students learned from a very real prop demonstrating the hazards.
Wyandanch High School students' eyes popped as they peered into the wreckage of a car propped up on the lawn of their high school on Friday.
School officials said they wanted the kids to see for themselves the aftermath of a roadside crackup.
Students couldn't believe the car's occupants survived with just injuries.
"I wouldn't want to be in that car. I wouldn't want any of my friends to be in that car," said Taheem Kelly.
Kelly, a sophomore, was one of dozens of students who took the pledge not to text and drink if driving on prom night -- or any night for that matter.
"What I see this car, it's very scary to me of what can happen that night. I mean, anything can happen. We just have to be safe about it," said Jessica Argueta.
School officials and police called on students to have a plan for getting home safely, and not to ride with anyone not willing to take the no texting, no drinking pledge.
Officer Eileen Brown said she is often the first one to see crash victims.
"We respond to them and that's the worst feeling in the world, when we have to rip someone out of something like this, no less a teenager," she said.
Senior Tyler Gregory took the pledge. He said he's tired of sidestepping people speeding through his neighborhood.
"Going like 50 miles an hour in a 30-mile an hour zone. That just endangers everyone," he said.
Every year nearly 5,000 teens across the country are injured or killed on prom night. Most of the crashes involve drinking or distracted driving.
Suffolk County police said they will be targeting texting drivers throughout prom season with the hope that it will cut down on the roadside wrecks.
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