Teenagers Behind the Wheel: When will they learn that they are not invincible!

From Ed Garten -- WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?

Once again, southwestern Ohio has witnessed another young teen driver and his passengers meet gruesome deaths.  Three Clark County high school students were killed in a single car crash in Springfield Township early Wednesday morning.  Clark County sheriff's deputies told 2 NEWS the driver of the car ran off Ridge Road, hit a tree, splitting the car in half.  These photos show that while it may take only minutes for a car to be put together on the contemporary assembly line, it only takes one or two seconds for the same car to fly into shards of metal.  Three teens, ages 15, 16, and 17 were pronounced dead at the scene.

"Cars don't get torn apart like that doing 30-40 miles an hour. It just doesn't happen," said Lt. Brian Aller, of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. "And especially hitting an object like that and to tear about that far, strewn that way it was as far as it was. High speed was definitely a factor."

None of the victims were wearing seat belts, although troopers said with the severity of the crash, seat belts would not have helped.

"Responding to this type of scene makes me hug my children harder. The tragic and senseless loss of these young men is devastating for not only their families, but the Tecumseh School System and entire Springfield community," said Lt. Aller.

Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens in the United States each year, killing more than cancer, homicide and suicide combined, according to AAA. Based on miles driven, teens are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers, the organization's website said.

A teen passenger faces the highest risk of death when driving with a teen driver - particularly at night.  AA also notes that the number of teen-driver crashes increases significantly with the number of teen passengers in the car, from fewer than two crashes per 10,000 trips when no passengers are in the car to six per 10,000 trips when three or more teen passengers are in the vehicle.