By Katie McMahon

Four students left school to film for their TV Production class last Thursday. What they didn’t know was that their lives could’ve been taken from them.

Driver Andrew Dyke ‘16 was turning on a dirt road going too fast just off of 14th St. when he lost control of his car. Thankfully, the car stopped in a ditch.

But the impact affected the passengers not only physically and mentally as well. Dyke,being the driver, froze once he lost control.

“All I was thinking was I don’t want to die.” said Dyke.

”Andrew froze up not knowing what to do,” said Ethan Macdonald ‘16, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Unfortunately, two of the three backseat passengers were not wearing their seatbelts. The impact of the crash physically caused Brianna Town ‘16 to fly forward and her nose broke, as well as the seat in front of her.

“I thought for sure I would go through the windshield. The seat saved my life,” said Town.

“My body physically moving towards the seat and hearing my nose break is something I will never forget,” said Town.

“I regret not wearing a seat belt after I saw how badly Bri was hurt. I am lucky that nothing happened to me,” said Aaron Crawford ‘15.

“Looking back, I saw the blood dripping from Bri’s face,” said Macdonald. “Hot chocolate and coffee spilled all over, but I managed to not spill my peace tea.”

Brooke Pinks ‘16 was belted in next to Town and saw her hit the seat.

“I bashed my face against the window and turned to see Bri’s blood splattered across my face. Coffee was everywhere,” said Pinks.

When the car came to a stop in the ditch, the four students all looked around to see if everyone was all right. Each student called the school, the police, and their parents.

While the details of the accident itself were taken care of, the incident was felt by many students still at school. An immediate stop was put on students leaving the building, to be effective indefinitely while the situation was being reviewed by administration.

“At this point no changes have been made regarding student driving.  We are looking into the accident and making sure that all policies were followed and what if anything that we could do better so that it doesn’t happen in the future, said Principal Jeremy Wright. “I am glad that nobody was injured and we always take all safety precautions to ensure the safety of all.”

Wright met with BluTV adviser Keven Badalemente, plus yearbook adviser Jane Kostanko and newspaper adviser Marilyn Hess, since students from those classes sometimes need to leave campus as well.

In addition to reviewing policies, the group is making some changes to the permission form to leave campus. Wright will have a final meeting with Superintendent Sue Wakefield on Wednesday.

Regardless of the mistakes made that caused the accident, the four students involved each learned a lesson personally.

“I’m probably never going to ride in a car with another teenage driver,” said Pinks.

“I barely drive anymore. Only to and from work and school,” said Town. “Wear a seat belt. They aren’t kidding when they say they can save your life.

“I learned how to stay calm and to call the cops after making sure everyone is alright before anything else,” said Macdonald.

Overall, the students are emotionally scarred by the impacts that were involved during the accident.

“I’m glad we are all okay,” said Crawford.