Appleton, WI - Scenario: a beautiful Saturday morning in Appleton when several teenagers gathered for a good time mixed with drinking and popping pills. A car crash occurred due to an impaired driver who crossed the center line and struck an oncoming car at an intersection. The crash resulted in one teen pronounced dead at the scene, one taken away by ambulance, and one taken away in handcuffs.

This was the scene as 5 cadets and 4 senior members gathered at Appleton Fire Station No. 6 for filming of a video on the dangers of impaired and inattentive driving. There is still more work to complete. Additional filming of a courtroom scene, cemetery scene, and educational segments will continue through the first week in August. The video, funded by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety, will be shown in driver’s education in every high school in Wisconsin. Capt. Donna Daniels, WIWG Drug Demand Reduction Administrator, has been working on this project for two years. Despite appearances for filming, safety was observed throughout filming and no one consumed any drugs or alcohol.

Many thanks go out to the Appleton Fire Department, Gold Cross Ambulance, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, and Xavier High School for their part in making this project a success. WIWG members participating were: Capt. Donna Daniels, WIWG DDRA; C/1st Lt. Brittney Lane, Fox Cities Composite Squadron; C/SrA Benjamin Konrad, C/A1C Tyler Klaver and Cadet Sponsor Delores Konrad, Shawano Composite Squadron; C/SrA Seán Patchin, Jr, C/A1C Edward Skaife, Capt. Seán Patchin, Sr., and 1st Lt Leon Pechatnikov, Madison Composite Squadron.

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