With prom season approaching, students in Lake Zurich, Illinois might think twice before drinking and getting behind the wheel. That's because Operation Prom Night made an appearance this week at the high school and presented a simulated prom night crash caused by a drunk student.

Several students acted as prom-goers dressed in formal wear with first responders present from the local fire department. A female student was splashed with fake blood and laying across the hood of a significantly damaged vehicle.

The purpose of Operation Prom Night is to make students realize how dangerous and potentially deadly it can be to drink and drive or to drive after taking drugs. While the scene may have been graphic in an effort to make a point, many people thought the program was well done and effective.

In Illinois, teenagers and people under the age of 21 are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system when they drive while it is illegal for anyone to drive under the influence of drugs. Special occasions, including prom, often cause a spike in teenage drinking as well as teenage drinking and driving so organizers feel it is important to highlight the dangers before these temptations arise.

Car crashes continue to be the biggest cause of death among U.S. teenagers each year, and though highway deaths have declined lately, too many teenagers continue to die in collisions. Teenagers and other young drivers are at a higher risk of crashes to begin with due to a lack of developed driving skills, lack of experience, and an inability to anticipate dangerous conditions that more experienced drivers tend to possess. Adding drugs or alcohol to the mix slows a teenager's ability to make decisions and slows reaction time, making crashes even more likely. In fact, in 2008, one in seven people killed in a drunk driving accident was under age 21 and therefore not even old enough to legally drink.

It is unclear whether Operation Prom Night will reduce drinking and driving in Lake Zurich this year but organizers hope that parents will reinforce the lessons taught by speaking with their teens at home, expressing the dangers of drinking and driving, and coming up with alternate plans, like having a safe ride available, in case a teen finds themselves in a dangerous situation.

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A Friday morning crash in Avondale that left four people seriously injured may have been caused by alcohol and possibly narcotics, according to Chicago police officers.

The crash happened just before 3:00 a.m. near the intersection of Kedzie Avenue and Elston Avenue on the northwest side of Chicago. A 21-year-old was driving a 1995 Honda Accord when he lost control of the vehicle, left the road, and struck a light pole. Authorities believe the car was traveling at a significant speed because upon impact, the car wrapped around the pole and sustained serious damage.

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, the vehicle was so damaged that the occupants could not be removed through the doors, forcing the fire department to cut apart the car and remove each of the four occupants.

The driver and another male were taken to Illinois Masonic for their injuries while the two females in the car were taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital. The driver was in critical condition and all four passengers appear to have suffered head and other injuries.

After conducting an investigation, police officers believe that alcohol and possibly narcotics played a part in the one-car crash and charges are now pending against the driver of the vehicle.

Drunk drivers who cause their passengers to be injured may also face civil claims including lawsuits for injuries and damages. Many people do not realize that if they are in the car with a person who causes their injuries, a claim can still be made.

In accidents like the one described above, most insurance companies will provide coverage to the three passengers so that they can recover for all of their damages, including medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and any other expenses they incur. This can be very important to keep in mind because according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one in every seven nighttime weekend drivers are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

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A collision on the Kennedy Expressway left one dead and backed up traffic for hours last week in Chicago.

The crash occurred Monday morning near Cumberland Avenue as traffic began to slow. A 65-year-old man in a Ford Explorer began to slow his vehicle for heavy traffic and was struck from behind by a semi truck that failed to slow or stop. The collision forced the Ford to strike a Lincoln Town Car in front of him, causing a second impact for the Ford driver. His vehicle was destroyed and unfortunately the driver died as a result of his injuries.

The driver of the Lincoln was taken to Resurrection Medical Center where he received treatment for his injuries. The semi truck driver was not injured and did not receive medical treatment, according to authorities.

The collision closed all outbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway between the Edens Expressway and Cumberland Avenue for three hours during morning rush hour but all lanes were reopened in the late morning.

Police have determined that the semi truck driver caused the collision when he was unable to slow down in time to avoid the crash. It is not clear whether the semi driver has been charged or will be charged with any violations in relation to the accident or why he failed to stop for traffic.

Crashes involving semi trucks are particularly dangerous due to the large size and mass of the truck when compared to a standard passenger vehicle. In fact, a semi with a trailer can be 20 times the size of an opposing car. This means that in a car versus semi collision, the car almost always sustains extreme damage and the passengers often are injured.

This size differential makes truck crashes more deadly than almost any other type of crash, as indicated by the collision that occurred earlier this week. With trucks making up a large portion of all vehicles on the road, it is nearly impossible to avoid them, making innocent car drivers at risk for crashes.

What many people do not realize is that commercial drivers, including semi truck drivers, have a different standard of conduct in some situations than others. This is because of the inherent danger that comes with driving a truck and the responsibility that is entrusted to truck drivers. While the increased regulations are designed to keep the roads safer, many of the semi crashes that result often occur as a violation of one or more safety standards or general regulations.

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There has been several incidents this year where a driver jumped the curb and crashed into a building in downtown Hinsdale. They all occurred on the same block of the village's downtown district, one in March and two other similar accidents occurred in February.

This accident involved a Clarendon Hills woman attempting to park her 2007 Mercedes ML500 along South Washington Street. Apparently, she hit the accelerator instead of the brake, sending her car into a vacant building that formerly housed the restaurant Zak's Place. The woman was not injured, but was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.

The two other accidents, which as previously mentioned occurred within the same street block, occurred on February 21 and February 23, when the Steinway Piano Gallery was struck twice by vehicles on separate occasions.

In the first accident, which took place on February 21, a man was trying to park his car into one of the angled spaces, but instead drove onto the curb and struck the building. Luckily, the only damage was a few fallen bricks. The second accident, which was on February 23, caused substantially more damage. "We heard a loud crash, and the doors were broken through and there was glass everywhere," said Diane Duncan, sales manager at the store. Apparently the driver came to a stop within just a few feet of some of the store's pianos. This accident was also the result of a driver attempting to park, but accidentally jumping the curb and hitting the accelerator.

Authorities have begun to discuss whether some sort of obstacle, such as a large planter box, might be the solution to these sorts of accidents. It may be the case that these accidents are just a highly unlikely coincidence. While there has been a mention of drivers averaging 65 years of age, there has also been an acknowledgement that it is not necessarily an age correlated with decreased driving abilities. Based on the limited information presented, it remains unclear whether perhaps all the vehicles involved were SUVs, or perhaps the curb in that area is lower or less sloped compared with other curbs, providing two additional potential explanations.

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The DuPage County Sheriff's Department reported that an Illinois limo driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.22 when he drove 23 teens to prom on Saturday. The legal limit for blood alcohol content in Illinois is 0.08 for most drivers and 0.04 for commercial license holders.

The teens were transported from Oswego East High School to a banquet hall near Glen Ellyn, the location of their prom, by the drunk driver. During the ride, several of the teens became concerned when the driver backed into a ditch and nearly hit several cars. The teens called their parents who in turn alerted the local police. After investigating the claim, the police arrested the driver who now faces charges of drunken driving and reckless conduct. If convicted, the driver will face a license suspension, fine, and mandatory community service, at a minimum.

The driver later claimed that he was not drunk but that mechanical problems, specifically a misalignment of the bus, was to blame for the erratic driving reported by the students but the owner of the bus said there were no mechanical issues. It has also been reported that the limo driver was fired from his job following this incident.

This is every parent's nightmare. When your child is in the care of a licensed professional, you expect that individual to operate with the highest degree of care. Instead, the driver in this case allegedly operated drunk and displayed erratic and dangerous behavior to the students on the bus as well as other drivers on the road.

Fortunately no one was injured in this incident but that is not typical for alcohol-related driving. In 2011, 35 percent of the 918 traffic fatalities involved a drunk driver which means that 323 people were killed due to drunk driving. Of those arrested for drunk driving, a disproportionately large number - 76 percent - of individuals were male. This should be surprising because males account for only 50 percent of licensed drivers in the state.

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