If you were to walk down Ridgeway Street at 9:30am on May 12, you might have thought there was a terrible accident. Fire Trucks, police cars, ambulances and even news trucks were scattered around Rancocas Valley. Fortunately, this was not an accident, it was the annual “Mock Crash” performed by the senior thespian students.

The Mock Crash has been an RV tradition for over 20 years. Senior Ryan Hans, who played the drunk driver in the crash, shares “Mock Crash is essentially an annual tradition here at RV, in which senior drama students re-enact a car crash due to underage drinking and driving. This happens every year to demonstrate the consequences of drinking and driving.”

This skit serves to bring awareness to drunk driving and the consequences it can have on not only the individual driving under the influence, but to the families and loved ones of everyone involved in the accident. The skit is also accompanied with speakers who share their own experiences with drunk and reckless driving. This year’s speakers were Mr. Latimer, a retired RV physics teacher who lost his nephew to drunk driving, Lindsey Steinmetz, an RV alumni who lost her uncle to drunk driving, and Ms. Papenberg, a RV guidance counselor who was involved in a drunk driving accident.

For many students, the mock crash opened their eyes into the dangers of drinking and driving. Hans shares the impact that the skit had on him. “Mock crash has affected me because living in that moment and playing this character, you just want to get out of it. Seeing the realness within our mock crash this year has affected me in ways I didn’t know were capable.”

This annual event has brought attention to a very important issue, especially one that affects students around prom time. This skit has greatly diminished the number of students involved in drunk driving accidents and allowed for students to recognize how big of an issue driving under the influence is.