Juniors and seniors witnessed a mock crash simulation in the parking lot Friday morning designed to portray the effects and consequences of drunk driving.

All of the student actors involved said the experience had a strong effect on them.

“It’s a very real circumstance that was dramatized to get the point across,” said Nick Cortazzo, who portrayed the drunk driver.

The event started in the auditorium, where officer Dave Artman shared videos of various automobile crashes involving alcohol or speeding. Then students saw a video in which the student actors portrayed students getting ready for prom.

Next, everyone went out to the central parking lot, where a mock crash had been set up, including student actors as drivers and passengers. Another car with student actors pulled up to the scene, and then police, firefighters, and an ambulance arrived on the scene.

Emergency personnel had to remove one of the mock passengers from a vehicle, and staged an arrest on the driver. Later, a helicopter landed on the softball field, just as one would in a “life flight” scenario.

Students went back into the auditorium to witness the mock interrogation of the driver, and at the end, the student actors and emergency response crew members answered questions about the experience.

“I felt helpless because I couldn’t move and I had no idea what was going on,” senior Nick Pantelis, who played a crash victim, said of the mock crash scene.

Another actor, junior Bri Phillips, said the event was important.

“It’s a good message that we spread,” she said.

Some students who weren’t involved in the crash said they were just as affected as the actors.

“It was traumatic because it’s people we know and love” senior Emmy Palatucci said.