Clarke Central High School senior and ODYSSEY Media Group staffer Karla Dougan talks about her car accident and recovery in a public service announcement produced in association with the Shepherd Center and Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Dougan recently reflected on her interview and its overall goal. “In the video I’m telling my story, which is important because texting and driving is a no-no,” Dougan said. “When I see people on their phones in the car, it scares me. I hope viewers learn not to text and drive because I’m sitting in a wheelchair right now.” Screenshot by Alexander Robinson
A public service announcement featuring Clarke Central High School senior and ODYSSEY Media Group staffer Karla Dougan was nominated for a Southeast Emmy.
On Dec. 31, 2016, Clarke Central High School senior and ODYSSEY Media Group staffer Karla Dougan was severely injured in a car accident. Dougan was driving while on her phone before realizing that she had gone off the road. She overcorrected and lost control of the car.
Dougan suffered a cardiac arrest that deprived her brain of oxygen. The crash resulted in some anoxic brain injury. She is continuing to recover.
“When the paramedics found me and lifted the car off me, I was dead for a few minutes,” Dougan said. “After that I had to relearn how to talk, how to swallow, how to eat (and) how to chew. I was in the hospital for four or five months. Then I went to Pathways for outpatient therapy for another few months.”
While recovering at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta several months after the accident, Karla was asked to share her story in the form of a public service announcement. Emma Harrington, the director of injury prevention education at the Shepherd Center, encourages such expression.
“(The) Shepherd Center has partnered with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Georgia Public Broadcasting to produce these PSAs for about two years now,” Harrington said. “GOHS and GPB do all the hard work and we partner them up with young people who have done rehabilitation at Shepherd. We believe in peer to peer injury prevention methods, and that is why we like our young patients to tell their story.”
Karla’s PSA has since been nominated for a Southeast Emmy award in the community/public service category on May 6. Harrington is thankful for Kalra’s willingness to share her story, and hopes it has a lasting effect on the community.
“Karla is an inspiration to us all — she clearly worked very hard in rehab and her willingness to share her story has inspired many,” Harrington said. “I appreciate her sharing her story and trying to prevent the same thing from happening to other teens.”
Karla believes that others can learn from her story, and is glad that the PSA has been nominated for an award.
“The video isn’t my work, but it is my story that’s being nominated for (a Southeast Emmy),” Dougan said. “It’s not something I did alone, I just talked. I feel good about it and proud because watching that video now I can see how far I’ve come.”
Dougan is proud of the strides she has made since the accident, and is continuing to improve.
“At that point I don’t think I’d started school yet and I was not in the place I am now — physically or mentally,” Dougan said. “My thoughts were not as complicated or intricate. I wasn’t thinking critically like I am now, so I’ve improved a lot since the making of that video. It’s weird watching it now and seeing myself.”
Tomas Dougan, Karla’s younger brother, also believes that viewers should learn from their family’s pain.
“Our family knows what we’ve been through,” Tomas said. “We already know the troubles with texting and driving. It’s kind of made apparent to us. It’s more of a PSA for other people. I think is really important for others to understand how devastating it can be.”
Moving forward, Tomas hopes that the video continues to change driving behavior.
“I just hope people don’t look at it once and then kind of dismiss it,” Tomas said. “I hope people actually heed the information and take it with them — and actually make an effort to not drive distracted.”
