BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Hollie Eiswert, right, comforts Brittany Cook after they arrive at the scene of a mock accident on Saliman Drive in front of Carson High School on Saturday afternoon. Brian Reedy's award-winning video production class is producing a project called 'Every Second Counts' with the collaboration of the Carson CIty sheriff's and fire departments to make a video to raise teen-driver awareness.
It was just like a real accident.
Traffic was rerouted into other lanes, and firefighters pulled people from cars.
It's exactly what Carson High School's advanced video-production students wanted for their filming of a video Saturday morning in front of the school.
"I like to think I'm a safe driver," said junior Bud Kop, one of six cameramen working on the "Every Second Counts" film.
The class, which received $2,000 in grant money for its project, used two cars from the dump for the accident scene.
Once things were under way, deputies responded to the mock Saliman Road crash, firefighters removed injured people from vehicles, and a Care Flight helicopter was ready for flight.
Kop, whose task was to track a motorcycle officer, was part of the crew.
"I'm kind of hoping this film will just open the eyes for the student drivers in the school because there's a lot of bad driving that goes on," he said. "We want to reduce as many traffic violations as we can."
When the film is complete, the class will put on a 45-minute presentation at the school. The entire project is due to State Farm insurance by Dec. 1.
Twenty-five schools nationwide were picked from about 500 applicants to create a project about safe driving, using any type of media.
Carson High was the only school chosen in the state.
When the top 10 teams are chosen from 25, they will meet in Long Beach, Calif., in March, where one will be named the winner of $10,000.
The Carson City sheriff's and fire departments, Carson-Tahoe Hospital and the Carson City Manager's Office participated in the project, meeting with film students and even suggesting the front of the school for the location.
Sheriff's personnel told the video team that the main problem with teen driving is inattention.
"Basically, kids are driving without paying attention to a lot of things," said video production teacher Brian Reedy. "Kids are just getting easily distracted, meaning like talking on the cell phone or fiddling with CDs."
Students sometimes rush to leave school at lunchtime or the end of the day, he said.
The film is part of Project Ignition, sponsored by State Farm and the National Youth Leadership Council.
No one was injured in the making of the film. After the filming was done, just like in a real accident, the road was reopened.
Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at mo'neill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.