STEVENS POINT (WAOW) -
Max Lundgren and Katie Olson are part of a four student team
at Pacelli High School.
They're competing in a community service competition.
Their goal is to educate teens on the dangers of impaired
driving.
"When we looked into it, we realized that our community
could greatly benefit from this, and we decided this was something we really
wanted to do," said team member Katie Olson.
But this is more than a project for the students – it's
personal.
Team member Katie Olson was in a crash caused by a drunk
driver last summer.
"Both of our cars were totaled. So, we were really lucky to
walk away from this. For me, It really opened my eyes to how precious of a gift
life is," said Olson.
The team has raised more than $10,000 to buy an impaired driving
simulator.
It shows users what it's like to text and drive or drive
drunk.
They plan to take the simulator to high schools in the area.
"We were like, ‘How are we going to do this? We want to get
this driving simulator within a month, and we want to go start sharing it with other
schools,'" said team member Max Lundgren.
The students gave presentations to local businesses to get
donations. Community members also chipped in.
"People would say, ‘Hey, my family was affected by a similar
situation, and I would like to donate a couple hundred dollars,' or ‘if you're
short, be sure to call us because we believe this cause is so important,'" said
Anne Rogalski, an organizer for the competition.
These students hope their efforts will keep others safe and
reduce the dangers of impaired driving.
