Nearly a dozen recent high school graduates are seen partying and consuming alcohol at 18-year-old Stacy’s house.
Drinks — provided by her parents — are making their way around the room. As the night continues, party-goer Ashley decides to go pick up a friend.
“I’ve only had a few drinks,” Ashley said. “We’ll be fine if I drive, let’s go.”
Moments later, a horrific collision takes place. Shattered windows and broken glass mix with blood.
The crash turns fatal when the sober driver of the other vehicle, Sarah, is seen laying on the hood of her car, ejected from the driver’s seat. She’s later pronounced dead at the scene.
“It was an accident,” Ashley screamed. “I don’t know what happened."
Delaware County deputy coroner Jim Hiatt approaches. He said his job requires him to perform an autopsy and determine Sarah’s official cause of death. But the worst part of his job, he said, is relaying the news to the family of the deceased.
“Nobody’s mom wants to get the news that their son or daughter has passed away so tragically,” Hiatt said. “But this is what can happen as a result of poor decisions — even if those decisions aren’t your own."
In maybe the most sobering scene yet, a local pastor speaks at Sarah’s funeral. His brother-in-law, Kevin, was the victim of a drunk driving accident 36 years ago when he was hit head-on by an inebriated driver near HW 28 and 600 W.
“It still hurts today as much as it did then,” he said. "Do yourself a favor — think before you drink."
It’s a moment of harsh reality for audience members during the annual “Living Proof” DUI crash recreation. The pastor — who remained unidentified — wasn’t reading any lines. His story was real.
Although it’s only a re-enactment, the young adult actors from the Delaware County Prevention Council make the scenes come to life.
“I’m amazed at how real this all is," Hiatt said. “It’s a lot like the things I see in real life.”
The event took place at Muncie Central High School on April 6 and 7, all in the name of preventing future tragedies.
Patricia Hart, lead organizer of the event and executive director of the Delaware County Prevention Council, said she too was impressed by the program and its participants.
“The kids who help make this thing possible are incredible,” she said. “Drinking and driving is seen from drivers of so many ages, so it’s really impactful, I think, to see teens and young adults re-enacting these scenes together.”
Hart said the the recreation — which took several months and more than 150 volunteers — is a great example of community collaboration because of its inclusion of actual first responders, circuit court officials and members of more than 50 organizations around Muncie.
“This scene is based on true events that have happened in the area in the past, but the acting and the setup is run by these real individuals from around the community,” she said. “It goes to show how impactful impaired driving can be, even in in this city."
The average drunk driver has driven drunk over 80 times before first arrest, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Muncie Police Traffic Division patrolman Garreth Vannatta said this statistic does not surprise him.
“I used to work the midnight shift, and I would arrest a lot of drunk drivers, a lot of them admitting that they’ve been able to avoid officers before in the past, ” Vannatta said. “It kind of became my focus, because I really wanted to get as may of the impaired drivers off of the roads as I could."
Vannatta, who’s been with MPD for 13 years, now works the day shift. Although he thought his focus would shift, Vannatta said he still arrests one to two impaired drivers a week.
“While I was on night shift, I was averaging about 130 impaired driver arrests a year,” Vannatta said. “It’s a problem in Muncie — it’s a problem everywhere.”
But Muncie Police Sgt. Chris Kirby, a drug enforcement expert, said impaired driving isn’t just a drinking and driving problem anymore.
“Impairment from drugs and alcohol is just as prevalent today as what it was in the in the '80s,” he said. "We’re probably seeing four to one, drugs to alcohol, for impaired drivers. A lot of our cases in this city are caused by impaired driving, but the majority of those are drug impairment.”
Having seen many of the impaired individuals firsthand, Kirby said he’s disturbed by the round-the-clock incidents officers see involving impaired driving and drugs.
"Drug-impaired driving has no time. The bar closes at 3 a.m., but these people are driving at eight in the morning, high on meth, heroin, you name it, while my kids are on the bus going to school,” Kirby said. “I have severe issues with that. I’m not saying it’s okay at 3 a.m., but when there’s people going to school or to work, that’s especially concerning."
Kirby said the old policing mentality was to take impaired drivers home if they hadn't caused any damage, but MPD has pushed to change that.
“If you’re at the bar and you need a ride home, the police are going to do anything they can to make sure you’re not getting behind the wheel,” he said. “But if you’ve been drinking and you’re out on the road, we don’t have any mercy. You’re going to jail.”
Kirby and Vannatta said the recreated crash scene is similar to ones they’ve seen before, and they hope the public is able to take something from the presentation.
"It’s unfortunate, but a lot of the people who come to this would never put themselves in a position like this,” Kirby said. “We still want them here, and we’re very excited that they’re here, but I wish the people who have less willingness to learn had this kind of information."
The Delaware County Prevention Council is part of the statewide network of the Governor's Commission for a Drug-Free Indiana and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, and the organization helps host the event to recognize Alcohol Awareness Month.
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