Delavan High School students witnessed a stark and unforgettable lesson on the consequences of impaired driving Friday afternoon as OSF HealthCare and ThinkFirst.org partnered with local emergency agencies to stage a full‑scale re‑enactment of a fatal post‑prom crash. The drill, held May 1 at 1 p.m. on school grounds, brought together students, first responders, and community partners with one goal: to show how one reckless decision can change countless lives.

Students took on the roles of drivers, passengers, and bystanders in a simulated head‑on collision involving two vehicles. In the scenario, one car was operated by a sober, responsible post‑prom driver with a passenger. The second vehicle was driven by an impaired teen under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, also carrying a passenger. The impact of the staged crash set the tone for a sobering and emotionally charged demonstration.

The scene unfolded with full emergency response, mirroring what would occur in a real-life tragedy. The Delavan Police Department and Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office secured the area as the Delavan Fire Department and Delavan Ambulance Service worked to extricate and treat victims. An OSF Life Flight helicopter landed on site to transport one of the critically injured students, underscoring the severity of such incidents. The Tazewell County Coroner’s Office responded as well, marking the most devastating element of the drill: one student fatality.

In total, the re‑enactment depicted one death, two gravely serious injuries and the arrest of the impaired driver for DUI—an outcome that reinforced the legal, emotional and lifelong consequences of impaired driving.

Following the demonstration, students gathered to hear from Christina Trueblood of Princeville, Illinois, whose 24‑year‑old son was killed in a DUI crash in 2017. Trueblood shared her family’s story with raw honesty, urging students to understand the weight of their choices. She reminded them that “one person, making one bad decision, on one day, can change the lives of so many.”

The event, coordinated just ahead of prom weekend, aimed to leave a lasting impact on Delavan teens. By combining realistic emergency response with real‑world testimony, OSF, ThinkFirst and local first responders delivered a message that was impossible to ignore: impaired driving is never worth the risk, and every decision behind the wheel matters.