By Paizlee Writtenhouse
Car and driving safety is an important lesson to teach your kids. Especially kids who are going to high school or kids who are getting ready to drive.
There are multiple students at Delta High School who have been in car crashes, and some are ready to share their stories.
Three of those students include T.D Wine, Christina Thorpe and Neal Mosier. They each have good advice to share with new drivers.
“If you are running late, it is actually not that stressful, you can just be late,” Thorpe said. “Just be very careful and be aware of your surroundings.”
Thorpe, a junior, was driving on Wheeling Avenue in Muncie on a Monday morning at the beginning of the school year when her windshield suddenly fogged up. She could not get it unfogged in time, causing her to mess up her windshield wipers which made her vision of the road more impaired. She then rear ended the car in front of her.
Thorpe says she was in shock, and that she was also stressed out due to the condition of her car, causing her to no longer have a vehicle.
Thorpe’s life has been affected. “I have a lot of driving anxiety and so I haven’t driven in a long time,” she said. “I have to have other people drive me everywhere.”
Thorpe did suffer an injury. She busted her lip open, causing her to be out of school for three days. Thorpe is still recovering.
A second student who had an accident this semester was senior Neal Mosier.
Mosier’s advice is, “Wear a seatbelt and stay calm when you get into an accident.”
Mosier was going through the intersection of two county roads when the crash occurred on his way to school. Mosier did not have the stop sign, but the other vehicle did. The woman in the vehicle blew through the stop sign and Mosier then ran into her vehicle.
Mosier ended up having his car totaled. Mosier has not struggled with driving since, but all students involved in crashes have different experiences and outcomes.
The most recent student involved in a crash was senior T.D. Wine.
Wine’s crash occurred on State Road 28 on his way to a morning Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting when a 70-year-old woman pulled out in front of his vehicle.
Wine was just hoping nobody got hurt. He was not aware of how many people the woman had in her vehicle and was thankful it was just the woman.
Wine had no injuries other than some bruising.
The most important part about student car safety is the “safety” part. Officer Gary Marvin and Officer Matt Medaris are Delta’s school resource officers.
Officer Marvin and Officer Medaris have advice to share.
“Pay attention to your surroundings, be mindful of the things around you and especially on the road,” Officer Medaris says. “Be patient, don’t rush, you’ll learn it as you go.”
Officer Marvin’s advice is, “Know where your driver’s license is at all times. It should be on you, in your purse or wallet, and never leave home without it. Know where your registration is for your car and know where the insurance card is.”
Officer Marvin and Officer Medaris have taken this job to protect the lives of students every day. They want all students to know it is completely okay to report crashes when they occur in the parking lot. If a student were to hit a car in the parking lot without saying anything, they might get in trouble. It is best that you go and see Officer Marvin or Medaris or inform the office.
“If you hit a car in the parking lot, 90 percent of the time it will be okay. We have things that we do because you’re not old enough to make the decision, so we have to contact your parents,” Officer Marivn said.
More than 200,000 teenagers are injured in crashes each year. To make sure more people don’t get injured, these students share their stories hoping others will learn from it.
