Car accidents, homicide, suicide, heart disease, and cancer are the five leading causes of death in teenagers. However, an average of nine teens ages 16-19 are killed in a car accident each day.

At FHHS in 2018 more and more students have been getting into car accidents going to or coming from the school. Some accidents were very minor, and others left students with serious injuries to themselves and their car.

An accident involving three students occured on Highway D by FHHS on sept. 26.

“Basically, the girl in front of me slammed on her breaks, so I did too, and I rear ended her. Then the girl behind me rear ended me.” said sophomore Paige Terbock.

The front and back bumper of Terbrock’s car were completely ruined, all from a small accident. The other students involved also had damage to their bumpers from the accident.

Teenage drivers going to and coming from FHHS are not making the best driving decisions, and the school has not went without acknowledging that. On Highway D students will turn the wrong direction, or violate rules to try and avoid traffic. FHHS has made several announcements, reminding students they can receive a ticket, and it’s very dangerous. However this does not always stop students from doing so.

FHHS is also crowded because of all of the schools students constantly moving and trying to get out of the school. This causes a backup along Highway D which can be problematic and stressful even for experienced drivers.

Senior Nick Karins was in a very serious car crash after leaving Union around 2:00 p.m. on sept. 5. The crash happened  on Highway K by O’Fallon road.

“I broke my pelvis, 7 vertebrae in my back, punctured both lungs and my bladder. I was hospitalized for 21 days. The driver had a concussion and brain bleeding,” said Karins.

The damages to his car were serve; the car was completely smashed.

“The car isn’t even a car anymore,” said Karins.

Although not all teenage car accidents are this serious, some accidents are caused by little mistakes that could be easily prevented.

“I was by the tennis courts and football fields leaving the school and the truck behind me rear ended me. The guy was on his phone so I guess he wasn’t paying attention. My bumper was ruined and to get that repaired was like $1,200,” said junior Olivia Crowell.

Although her interaction with a distracted driver didn’t injure her and the damages weren’t too serious, this isn’t the case for many teens. Statistics show teen drivers text four times more than adults, and around 11 teens die each day from texting and driving.

Students need to stay off of their phones, and be cautious while driving in the busy school environment. Not all accidents may be bad, but any student could get into an accident at any time. However, nobody ever knows how serious it could be.