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Wis. School Experiences Controversy Over Distracted Driving Drill

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A small Wisconsin community is dealing with controversy over a lesson to teach students about the dangers of distracted driving.

During Monday morning announcements, the school told students four of their classmates had been killed in a crash involving texting and driving.

However, the students were not dead and an announcement about 10 minutes later explained the lesson.

It happened in Brodhead, in a rural part of Wisconsin, about 100 miles southwest of Milwaukee.

"A lot of our friends and fellow students actually started crying because they actually thought these people were dead, and so I think a lot of them actually called their parents in school too," Madison Trombley, a student at Brodhead High School, said.

"It wasn't really effective. They were trying to teach using scare tactics which doesn't teach, it just makes you not trust the teachers and any of the announcements you're going to get," Sam Bolen, another student, said.

The superintendent and principal of the school said they only received a few complaints from parents about the drill.

School officials and student organizers said their intention was not to cause stress.

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