Crushed metal and bloodied bodies.  Ambulances and fire trucks.  The coroner and a body bag. State police officers and handcuffs.  Lawyers and judges.  A teenager’s funeral.  Another teen going to prison.

This is what Tyrone seniors experienced early Thursday morning in a parking lot behind the high school and in the TAHS cafeteria turned courtroom.

Fortunately, this was a planned demonstration, but it could be the reality if students do not take the lesson of not driving under the influence seriously.

The “Senior Safety Day” program, now in its third year at TAHS, was organized by social studies and driver’s education teacher Mr. Cummins McNitt.

“Our Senior Safety Day really is a big deal,” said McNitt,  “an awful lot of professionals and organizations come to our assistance every year.  Without their insights and input this event wouldn’t be possible.”

“We want to teach our seniors about the importance of making the right decisions, especially during prom and graduation season,” said McNitt.

The program began at about 8:30 am with a mock DUI accident demonstration.

In the scenario presented to the seniors three Tyrone High School juniors: Michaela Diehl, Jojo Steinbugl, and Lena Walk were all passengers in a car driven by fellow junior Jake Makdad.  They had all been drinking.

Their car careened off the road and flipped several times.  A passing car saw the accident and called 911.

Tyrone’s Neptune and Blazing Arrow Hook and ladder fire companies, and AMED were soon on the scene to deal with three serious injuries and one fatality.

The responders first had to extract the “victims” from the car.  By using the ‘jaws of life’, the fireman safely cut the windows, doors, and roof off the car to remove the injured students.

Then Deputy Blair County Coroner Gil Barton removed the last victim from the car as the senior class watched the scene.

Junior Lena Walk was declared dead by the coroner and placed in a body bag.

Despite the fact that the accident wasn’t real, the majority of the seniors took the scenario very seriously and learned a valuable life lesson.

”If someone seems intoxicated don’t get in the car with them. You should even take their keys so they aren’t driving around,” said mock accident victim and junior Joe Steinbugl.

”We try to show them what a real life vehicle accident would be like,” said Blazing Arrow Fire Chief Dave Wiser. ”We want to show them what happens when you’re not making the right decision on the road.”

“Nobody wants to see their daughter taken out of a body bag,” said Wiser, “This is the end for this girl, her family will never see her again.”

Following the mock accident scene, the students headed to the high school cafeteria where students witnessed a field sobriety test performed by the Pennsylvania State Police.

State Trooper Frank Gaus offered students the opportunity to test goggles that simulate the impairment of a drunk person.   Seniors Ben Shetler, John Lewis and Tristan Case attempted to pass the sobriety test while wearing the goggles.  Two out of three of the students failed the test.

Following the sobriety test,  District Magistrate Judge Fred Miller and Trooper Gaus, with the help of members of Tyrone’s Mock Trial team, performed a mock DUI trial to show students what happens when someone is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Mock Trial Team members Adam Zook, Jake Makdad, Molly Fessler-LaPorte and Carrie Vance played various rolls in the trial.

The final phase of the program involved the trial and sentencing of the driver of the vehicle.

In the end Makdad, the driver of the car, was sentenced to ten-to-twenty years in state prison and fined $19,500.

At sentencing, Makdad faced tears by Molly Stroup, the mother of deceased “victim” Lena Walk, and the stern voices of the state police officer and Judge Miller.

”We want these seniors to understand that driving is a privilege, and they need to take it seriously because a vehicle can be considered a weapon and cause injury or death to themselves or others,” said State Trooper Gaus.