‘Ghost Out’ has serious lesson on safe driving

NARUNA Adark figure roamed the halls of William Campbell High School, and ghosts could be seen traveling the corridors.

Cloaked in a long, slinky black robe with a white mask and hood, the Grim Reaper moved classroom by classroom to claim his victims.

Rather than meeting their doom, his victims learned an important lesson: the dangers of driving while distracted.

"You don't know if it's [going to be] you, just like real life," said the reaper, played by teacher Justin Wade.

Wade donned the costume as part of the Campbell County school's "Ghost Out" event. He gently hovered around students before tapping them, which symbolized their death in a vehicle wreck. He chose a new victim every 12 minutes to illustrate how often someone dies on the roads.

This is the first time the school has participated in the event, which has been done nationwide. After Wade's tap, students left the classroom to have their face painted white. They were ghosts and couldn't talk for the rest of the day.

As students became ghosts, state trooper Travis Barr entered the classroom and brought an eerie sense of realism to the event. He told students what kind of fictitious wreck killed their classmate.

For students, Barr said, seeing their friends pulled out of class and then return as ghosts leaves an impression.

Wade said he hopes the impact of Wednesday's Ghost Out sticks with students, especially because their prom is tonight.

"I think it's a good thing," he said of the event's timing. "I think it's for a good cause, to go around and show what could happen if you don't buckle up, or use alcohol."

It's likely safety already was on the minds of some parents and students. A letter about Ghost Out was sent home to parents last week, shortly after a student at Liberty High School in Bedford County was killed in a wreck there.

William Campbell's Ghost Out was almost a month in the making. The school's Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety group sponsored the program, and deputy Joel Everhart, a school-resource officer, helped the students.

"We're finding out through statistics, state police, the DMV -- a lot of teenagers now are distracted driving," he said.

His group wants to create awareness and educate, he said, because students need to know what could occur on the road if they are not focused.

"It puts it in the back of their mind," he said.

Members of the traffic-safety group who helped paint faces and guide the Grim Reaper considered the activity a success. Senior Samantha Isaacs said at first some students appeared skeptical, but once the cause of death was read there was a sobering effect.

"With something like this, it just happens. It catches you off guard," she said.

Senior Katie Guill, among those helping during the Ghost Out, said staying focused and eliminating distractions can prevent tragedy.

"You're not guaranteed another day," she said.

Annie McCallum is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.