Students gathered outside at Bryan County High School in Pembroke on Friday morning prior to prom celebrations to witness a car crash re-enactment. The annual event is planned and presented by members of Students Against Destructive Decisions.

The students work on the event for months leading up to it and are able to present the mock event in collaboration with various city and county departments including: the Pembroke Police Department, Pembroke Fire Department and Bryan County EMS.

"The SADD kids put this together. I and the other chiefs, we just provide the resources for them," Public Safety Director Bill Collins told Pembroke City Council members Monday, "but it’s very important that we keep our kids understanding the dangers of drinking and driving."

The recreated crash included two vehicles, one flipped on its roof, and multiple victims, including casualties. "We do this every year to bring awareness as to what can happen to anybody," SADD representative and BCHS senior Rebecca Sauls said.

Sauls and her family experienced first hand the heartache of reckless driving when her older brother was involved in a serious accident several years ago after choosing to get behind the wheel while impaired.

"I was getting ready for school and my mom walked in and said, ‘You’re brother’s been in a car wreck’," Sauls explained. "It was probably one of the worst experiences that I’ve ever been through, so I just don’t want anyone else to go through that. In my perspective, from the family’s perspective, it was horrible."

Sauls hopes that the mock event will be a sobering influence on students. " I know not everyone is going to take it seriously," she said, "but as long we touched one person and got in one person’s head and they kinda realize what could happen and if it stops them from driving, then we did what we’re supposed to do."