Crash scene staged at Eagle Valley Middle School

Students at Eagle Valley Middle School arrived Tuesday morning to find a wrecked car in front of the school surrounded by empty beer bottles and backpacks.

"We all thought it was a real car wreck there for a second," said Chris Benedict, 14.

But it wasn't. The scene was staged by members of the Stand Tall Don't Fall club at the middle school to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving.

"Drunk driving sucks," Chris said. "You can get killed. It affects not only your life but everybody close to you."

A video was shown to the student body explaining the nature of binge drinking and the negative health effects of alcohol.

Linda Lang, the club's parent adviser, said the students had two purposes they wanted to accomplish with the staged accident and video.

"You may not drive in middle school but you do have to make a decision about whose car to get into," she said. "The kids are trying to teach their peers that underage drinking doesn't have to be the norm. It's not a rite of passage."

The display car was totaled after a drunk driver ran into the back of a semi truck. Capital Towing brought it to the middle school.

"I think that it helped us out a lot," said Lyndsey Graham, 13. "I think more people are realizing, with the car being out there, that drunk driving can kill you."

And they learned to be more aware of other drivers.

"You shouldn't be care free if you're not driving drunk," said Charles Schettler, 12. "Most of the time, it's the other person that hurts you."

About 22 members belong to Stand Tall Don't Fall, United Against Underage Drinking at the school.