The day before Brown County High School’s Saturday prom, ambulances and fire trucks surrounded a pair of smashed vehicles in the BCHS parking lot. Four students in suits and gowns cried for help while another just lay there. Classmates sat on the school’s steps and watched as responders swarmed, strapping the teens to backboards as they extracted them from the vehicles. One student went through field sobriety tests on the sidelines. Columbus Regional Hospital EMS’s Chris Henderson, microphone in hand, narrated the Friday, May 13 event, “Project Safe Prom.” The detailed scenario is designed to show students what can happen when poor choices and careless actions meet otherwise happy events. “If you actually live this, you’ll be living it for a long time,” Henderson told students afterward. “We,” he said, gesturing to himself and his fellow responders, “will be living this for a long time.”

Staff photos by Megan O'Bryan

Full-size digital and print photos are available for purchase through the Brown County Democrat. Call 988-2221, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or send an e-mail to ads@bcdemocrat.com to receive an order form.
All photos are property of the Brown County Democrat and may not be used, reproduced or distributed without permission and attribution.