Car crashes are the #1 killer of teens

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - An Ohio community is in mourning after a car crash killed six teenagers.

An SUV carrying eight teenagers smashed into a guardrail before ending up in a swampy Ohio pond early Sunday.  Two teenagers got out, six others, including the driver died.

Authorities say the car was speeding before it crashed.  And that the teens took the vehicle without permission.

“[It’s] so, unbelievably sad and scary. It sounds like kids crammed in a car,” said Andrea Fein of Newton, who has three children; one of whom is a teenage driver.

The Centers for Disease and Control says car crashes kill an estimated 3,000 teens every year.  The main cause for these crashes is driver inexperience. 

Mr. Ramirez is a driver's-ed instructor at the Pioneer Valley Driving School.  He reminds students to turn off cell phones during class, hoping they'll develop a habit of it once they get their license.  

18-year-old Erica Desreuisseau is one of his students. She says distractions are a problem.

“Because I've been in the car with other teenagers and I know that there's usually like loud music or a lot of talking and people throw things in the car.  Like, food from the front seat to the back seat,” said Desreuisseau on Monday afternoon.

According to the CDC, crash risks goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car.  Because of this educators say state driving requirements for teens are becoming more demanding.

“The kids have to do 30 hours of classroom, they have to do 12 hours of driving in a driving school car and they need to do six hours of observing another student driver.  And very important, 40 hours with their parents,” said Mary Ellen Paciorek, owner of the Pioneer Valley Driving School.

Paciorek says while teens are learning, parents should take every opportunity they can to drive with them. She says sharing your experiences as a driver does help.