Mock Crash Demonstrates Real Consequences

Students at Rapid City Central High School learned a lesson about making responsible choices on Tuesday.

The Freshmen Impact program showed students the real-life consequences of drinking and driving with a mock accident.

The hospital helicopter even landed on 8th Street as part of the drill, shutting down the street for more than an hour.

"The goal is to hammer home the importance of making good choices, and also how those choices can impact the lives of others, the lives of these young people themselves, and how getting behind the wheel of a car adds to their own responsibility," Liz Hamburg with Partnership Rapid City said.

More than 25 different agencies were involved in the program.  According to U.S. News and World Report, South Dakota ranks lowest in the nation in teen driving safety.