Dougherty high school students get real-world lessons in car safety

ALBANY – Dougherty County high school students got a graphic look at the consequences of poor driving habits this week, including a demonstration with trauma surgeons that utilized simulated blood to drive home the reality.

The Safe Driving Summit events held at Dougherty and Monroe high schools brought the message home to junior and seniors and presented strategies on how to be safer inside autos as either a driver or passenger.

The events, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, were brought to the county through the Lutzie 43 Foundation in collaboration with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Trauma surgeons at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital deal with more than 1,000 trauma cases each year, and many of those result from auto accidents, including those involving teenage victims, Dr. David Kashmer, a trauma surgeon at the hospital, said.

“It’s really going up and up,” the physician told an Albany Herald reporter. “That’s why being safe on the road is so important.”

Kashmer and other Phoebe personnel gave a demonstration that started with television news footage of an actual accident involving teenagers who were not wearing seat belts that occurred on U.S. Highway 19 in Fulton County. Technicians with Dougherty County Medical Services rolled the screaming “patient” in for the trauma team to begin their work. 

Other break-out sessions during the event included a demonstration on rehabilitation for a person severely injured and safety on the road related to big trucks.

“It’s great to be able to do events to help kids,” Kashmer said.

For the Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler, who helped bring the demonstrations to the two Albany schools, the summit was a chance to further his projects focused on preventing deaths. His office has coordinated several events focusing on fentanyl for high school students. He has also held events geared toward reducing gun violence, including a parade of hearses driving through the heart of Albany’s downtown to bring the point home, as well as suicide-prevention and teaching swimming lessons to prevent drownings.

On May 30, area youngsters can sign up for the 2026 Swim For Life swimming sessions from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Albany State University’s West Campus.

The summits this week had an impact, Fowler said, one that could mean less work for the coroner making death pronouncements and notifying parents of a loved one’s demise.

“It’s going to save some lives,” he said. “I’ll put it that way. I believe that. I think it touched a lot of people. I think we got our point across.”

The realism provided in the trauma and rehabilitation break-out sessions was an eye-opener for the students, Fowler said.

“A lot of them came out crying,” he said. “A lot of them said they got a lot out of it.”

EMS Director James Gibney agreed that the summit presented information in a way that could reach the students.

“They can learn that their choices have consequences,” he said. “Maybe they’ll make a different choice. That’s the hope.”