Update: The time and place of the Shattered Dreams assembly has been changed to 9:30am at the Early First Baptist Church.
Early High School will be holding an educational and dramatic event, the Shattered Dreams program, this Thursday and Friday morning involving a mock accident which will illustrate the dangers of drinking or texting while driving. The public, students and parents are invited to attend.
Early Police Chief David Mercer explained that full emergency scenarios will be enacted by students as well as fire, police and EMS. The public and passersby may fear the program is an actual wreck, as the event will be broadcast on police and fire channels. An AirEvac helicopter as well as doctors and nurses at Brownwood Regional Medical Center will be involved in the program.
“The shattered Dreams program is an emotional program that reenacts a fatality accident caused by a drunk driver,” Mercer explained. “We have also added in the effects of texting and driving in our program. The accident is set up as a drunk driver hits another car head on and a 3rd car driving along texting hits the accident that has already occurred.”
Students from the junior and senior classes at EHS have volunteered to participate in the program and a couple of parents have agreed to allow their children to play the part of 2 fatalities in the accident where the parents will be notified of their child’s death, according to Mercer.
The accident will be set up and the students will be taken to the football stadium parking lot where they will witness fire personnel, EMS and law enforcement as they are notified, respond and work the accident. The event will be portrayed as if it were an actual scene from the 911 call to the funeral home picking up a deceased from the accident, stated Mercer. AirEvac helicopter will even transport a patient to the Brownwood Regional ER where doctors and nurses will play a part in the program.
Please remember that the accident which will take place at 1pm Thursday is only a mock accident. The accident scene will be conducted behind the football stadium on school property in order to keep people from panicking. TXDoT will be providing a message board to alert passing motorists of the mock accident as the “accident scene” is being worked.
The film crew from In-Focus in Abilene will film the program and put together a DVD for an assembly to be held at the Early First Baptist Church, 103 Garmon Drive, on Friday morning at 9:30am. Several speakers will speak on their experiences with drunk driving and how it has taken from their lives and shattered all their dreams.
