The West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and partnering agencies held a mock DUI crash at Rochester High School on Thursday, April 2 to demonstrate the seriousness of distracted, impaired and reckless driving.
Airlift Northwest landed a helicopter in a field in front of the school while three student volunteers got doused in fake blood and posed as patients for fire and EMS personnel to extricate and treat.
Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol personnel also fake-arrested one of the students, who was posing as the impaired driver.
“We really want to just drive home the seriousness of this and how this can really affect lives,” West Thurston Fire Chief Nathan Drake told the Rochester High School students and seniors gathered for the demonstration.
Looking over the group of students, Washington State Patrol Sgt. Scott Kirkeby noted that he had met some of them on the job, and had even given a few of them rides home when they were impaired.
“I’d rather that happen than have something like this happen,” Kirkeby said, referring to the crash behind him.
Drake reflected on an experience early on in his career where he responded to a DUI fatality crash involving one of his friends, who was a high school junior at the time.
“That was tough for his family, and that was tough for the community in general. These incidents do happen, and they affect a lot of people,” Drake said.
According to data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), 10% of teens involved in a fatal crash in Washington state between 2015 and 2024 were under the influence of alcohol, 17% were distracted, 24% were driving impaired by one or more drugs, 36% were not wearing seat belts, and 67% were speeding.
A total of 25% of all fatal crashes in Washington state between 2015 and 2024 involved teen drivers, according to WTSC.
In Thurston County, teen drivers were involved in 16% of all fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024.
WTSC has 18 fatal crashes on record in Thurston County in that nine-year timeframe involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20. Of those, six of the involved drivers were under the influence of one or more substances, six were not wearing a seat belt, four were distracted and four were speeding.
“This isn't just a national statistic. This happens here in our community every single year, so think about your personal responsibility,” Drake said. “When you are driving, you are responsible for not just your safety and the people that are in your vehicle, but everyone else on the road.”
West Thurston Regional Fire Authority brought the mock accident event back to Rochester High School this year as part of its annual goal of improving community engagement.
The event was last held at the high school over a decade ago.
