NEWS

Students take on wreck victim roles in mock crash at Clarksville Academy

The event at Clarksville Academy Sports Complex was part of an anti-texting and driving campaign.

Taylor Slifko
For The Leaf-Chronicle

A mock crash set up at the Clarksville Academy Sports Complex this week provided students with a sobering look at what can happen drivers are distracted.

The event was part of the anti-texting and driving campaign “Be in the zone – turn off your phone,” which involved a partnership among Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Clarksville Police and Clarksville Fire Rescue.

Student actors were made up with fake blood and visible injuries. The cars used in the mock crash were once involved in actual fatal crashes in Clarksville.

Clarksville Academy participates in mock crash where students simulate a fatal traffic collision to show the dangers of driving distracted on Wednesday, March 29, 2017.


Student actor Shelby Moore emerged from one car in tears.

“Just sitting in the spot where someone else was hurt, going through what they went through, really freaked me out,” Shelby said.

After the mock crash, Traffic Investigator Jennifer Szczerbiak debriefed students with facts and numbers.

“Car crashes are the leading cause of death in your age group. In 2015, 2,715 teens died in motor vehicle crashes, which is 3 percent up from 2014. In Tennessee alone, we lost 103 teens. In Montgomery County, three teens died in motor vehicle crashes.”

Szczerbiak encouraged each student to take the student traffic awareness training class. Some of the activities include driving golf carts while texting and wearing beer goggles.

Classes will be held May 6, Aug. 26, and Oct. 21. For more information, contact Misty Mackens at 931-648-0656 or email mmackens@clarksvillepd.org.