According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, more than 14,000 citations were issued from 2020 to March 2023 for drivers holding a phone, despite the state passing the Hands-Free Law in 2020.

In 2020, 124 people were killed in alcohol‐impaired collisions in Indiana — accounting for 14% of the state’s traffic fatalities — per a report by Rachel Thelin, senior policy analyst at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute.

Additionally, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), one person in the United States dies every 52 minutes in a drunk driving crash, claiming more than 10,000 lives per year.

On Wednesday morning, at Crothersville Junior/Senior High School, a wreck claimed the life of one student and severely injured six others. Jackson County EMS arrived at the scene, along with volunteers from the Vernon Township Fire Department, an air ambulance helicopter from Ascension St. Vincent.

A hydraulic rescue tool, also known as the jaws of life, was used by emergency rescue personnel to assist in the extrication of the students from the vehicle. A truck from Howard’s Garage and Wrecker Service soon arrived to tow the vehicle away.

Emma Wicker, a senior, was pronounced dead at the scene and taken away in a hearse. Other students were taken away in an ambulance to have their injuries treated.

Thankfully, the wreck did not actually occur.

It was a staged simulation — a mock wreck — intended to deter Crothersville teenagers from driving distracted or under the influence.

“I bet Emma’s freaking out [in the hearse],” Mckenna Newberry said, a fellow senior.

It’s not a coincidence that prom season is upcoming. The Crothersville High School chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) partners with local first responders to conduct the simulated car wreck outside the school every four years before prom as a means to remind students to be safe.

“We’ve got prom coming up and [kids] think of that as one of the highlights of their high school career,” said Matthew Otte, SADD sponsor and P.E./health teacher. “We also have to remember that bad things happen, and they need to be responsible. [The mock wreck] is a very visual example. I mean, it’s always ‘someone else,’ but this shows that it can be in our backyard and it can happen to people who are in our lives everyday.”

The simulation hit close to home for Wicker, who knows all too well the reality of it.

“To be a part of such a thing felt like an honor,” Wicker said. “It was an amazing experience; however, I feel like being put in a hearse made the whole situation feel real and I wouldn’t want any parent to experience that feeling. I had a sister pass away in a car accident so it definitely made me sit and think about it all.”

Addressing gathered students in front of the “wreck” after the simulation ended, Otte said, “This happens in small towns every day. You might think it’s just a quick text or somebody just had one drink. It’s not that simple. We have to watch out for each other. We need to watch out for each other.”