One person was pronounced "dead," one was airlifted from the scene and several others were taken to the hospital.

Wreckage from three cars lay on the field as rescue personnel worked to free trapped passengers. Two teen-agers were "arrested" for drinking alcohol after escaping the crash with only minor "injuries."

It may not have been a real accident, but emergency personnel reacted to the scene the same as they do in real life.

The set-up crash was an object lesson to high school students from three Kosciusko County school districts to teach them the dangers of drinking and driving.

Close to 1,700 juniors and seniors from Warsaw Community High School, Tippecanoe Valley High School and Wawasee High School attended the Prom Night Docu-Drama at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds Wednesday morning.

The event showed a fatal car accident supposedly caused by two drivers who were drinking alcohol and racing their cars. The countywide effort was coordinated by Karen Lowry, Extension educator, in an attempt to keep teens from drinking and driving, especially on prom night.

"They did a good job," Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine said of police officers, firefighters and EMS crews after the docu-drama. "It was very realistic."

"It was like any other accident," Kosciusko County Sheriff's Deputy Don McCune said.

Students who watched the 45-minute event agreed.

"It was realistic," said Tippecanoe Valley students Shanna Dunnuck and Becky Rice, who gave the event a "thumbs-up."

"It was pretty good," WCHS seniors Craig Thomas and Nathan Conley said.

When asked if they learned anything, the two seniors said, "Don't drink and drive and don't race your car."

The docu-drama began with the crash - three cars towed onto the track at the fairgrounds. Nine students played the parts of the wounded and dead, complete with prom outfits, makeup and fake blood.

The crashed cars were uncovered and students heard a pre-recorded 911 call describing the accident to the police dispatcher. Even though the accident was not real, the emergency response was. Emergency crews arrived with full lights and sirens and worked quickly and efficiently as if the injuries were real.

A Kosciusko County Sheriff's deputy was first to arrive at the accident and check the vehicles. Close behind him were fire crews from Atwood and Warsaw. Police officers from Winona Lake, Mentone, Syracuse and Indiana State Police also responded to handle the accident investigation.

EMS crews from Multi-Township, Syracuse and North Webster came to the scene to treat the eight injured passengers and drivers.

One of the first teen-agers lifted out of the vehicles was pronounced dead from her injuries and was put into a body bag by a deputy coroner. Her parents arrived later and were talked to by the coroners and sheriff. The body was taken away by a funeral home hearse.

Rovenstine said the scene was set up to show two cars that were being raced by intoxicated drivers. Another car trying to avoid the crash then rolled over. Police found empty beer cans in two of the cars.

Fire crews used the jaws of life to cut the roof off one car to free the trapped passengers. One was critically injured and loaded into the Good Samaritan helicopter that landed in a nearby field.

Warsaw Police Department provided security and maintenance for outside the track.

Lowry said she saw a presentation of the program at a seminar in a county in Ohio, which used the docu-drama. Lowry said the people in the community who need to approve the event did. She said they formed working committees, each with a specific responsibility, to add to the docu-drama.

"To have kids see the consequences without having to suffer the consequences (of drinking and driving)," Lowry said, was the purpose of the event. She said the event was done close to prom and graduation times to "plant the seeds to make sure they don't mix something with driving that shouldn't be mixed with driving - like alcohol or drugs."

Lowry said she talked to emergency personnel, who called the death of a young person "the ultimate horror they face."

The students were returned to school to listen to a debriefing talk that reinforced what they learned at the docu-drama. [[In-content Ad]]