Smashed Cars, Gore, and a Powerful Message for Rosemount High Schoolers

Two dead. Three seriously injured.

That was the toll at Rosemount High School on Thursday morning, as members of the Rosemount Police and Fire Departments, Minnesota State Patrol units and other emergency responders conducted a mock crash demonstration.

The mock accident was staged in the high school parking lot with student volunteers, two smashed minivans and plenty of fake blood and gore. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom and local mom Lisa Hoeft—who lost her son Michael several years ago in a car accident, both provided perspective for the  hundreds of RHS students assembled at the scene.

Click here to see photos from the Rosemount High School mock crash.

"This is a reflection of real life. This is a reflection of what happens every day in this nation, in fact it happens 35 times every day in this country, where someone is killed as a result of an impaired driver," Backstrom told the assembled students. "That's almost 12,000 deaths every year.

"It's not just drinking and driving anymore, it's the use of these cell phones that each and every one of you has," Backstrom added. "Using cell phones can be just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol."

The mock broadcast a message of caution and smart decision-making that public safety officials say is especially important for students to hear, as they head out to graduation parties and end-of-the-school-year celebrations.

Rosemount parent Lisa Hoeft closed out the Thursday morning presentation by sharing her very personal story of loss; her 19-year-old son Michael was killed when the car he was riding in hit a patch of black ice in Rosemount and rolled. Michael, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, was thrown through the sun roof of the vehicle.

"He's gone to be with our lord, and as comforting as that is, it still doesn't fill the void in my heart and my life," Hoeft said. "We try to remember a life that was cut too short because of the decision that he made, the choice he made to not buckle up."