— — If Allysha Hartke is riding in a car with friends and sees the driver texting, she’s not afraid to grab the phone and put it away.

“If I see them doing it I’ll take the phone away because it scares me,” said Hartke, a Tonawanda High School senior who organized a distracted driving event Tuesday at the school.

Tonawanda juniors and seniors got to experience the consequences of texting while driving through a simulator brought to the school under a partnership between city police, state police, Entercom Buffalo and Nationwide Insurance.

Tonawanda was the second high school to experience the simulator, and another eight schools will also be visited in the run-up to various events like prom, said Paul Maurer, an Entercom account executive who helped sponsor the event.

“If we can save the lives of even one or two kids, its value is priceless,” Maurer said.

The simulator has the look of a video game. The device features a steering wheel and gas and brake pedals hooked up to a flat-screen monitor that simulates various driving conditions.

Students have to pay attention to traffic devices, as well as deer and pedestrians crossing the road. As they drive along, an image of a cell phone pops up on the screen and displays a text message, to which the drivers respond. That’s where things get scary.

Had it been on a real road, the casualties Tuesday would have included several deer and a few pedestrians.

“I hope they learn from it,” Hartke said. “I hope they really see that it’s dangerous. I think texting and driving is more dangerous than drinking and driving because your eyes aren’t on the road.”

When Hartke tried the simulator, she struck and killed a deer.

The result was far worse for Tonawanda senior Michael Guiga, who will soon be taking his road test. “As soon as I was done sending the message I looked up and this lady was coming across the street,” he said, adding, “I didn’t have enough time to stop.”

That’s the message police hope students obtain from the simulator, along with a wrecked car parked in front of the high school. The car was involved in a distracted driving crash in New York state.

“Whatever it is, whether it’s texting, drugs or alcohol, distracted driving at this age is monumental with these kids,” said City of Tonawanda Police Detective Tim Toth, who works as a school resource officer at Tonawanda. “You hope that these visual aids make them understand that this is dangerous.”

Part of the problem, Toth added, is that there are more young drivers on the road. “You come up here in the morning, you’ll see kids on the cell phone, you’ll see teachers on their phone. The message has got to get out there to the younger population,” he said.

Students seemed to be getting that message Tuesday. Many responded to the simulator with gasps as they saw the potential dangers of distracted driving.

“It’s pretty scary, realizing while you’re texting and driving you also have to look everywhere,” said junior Rebecca Davis, who has her learner’s permit and says she does not allow herself to be distracted by a cell phone while driving.

“When I’m driving, I just pay attention to the road,” she said. “I get really nervous when people are texting and trying to look at the road.”

While the casualties Tuesday were mere simulations, the reality of texting while driving is far more serious. Approximately 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

The texting simulator has worked rather well, said Grant Getzoni, a Nationwide representative in Williamsville. “Everybody thinks it’s a learning experience for the person driving, but it’s the crowd behind them, seeing what the police officers see — the weaving,” he said.

Hartke organized Tuesday’s event for a student leadership class. In addition to testing out the simulator, students signed a banner pledging not to text and drive, and could purchase thumb bands to benefit the Remember Alex Brown Foundation.

The foundation’s mission is to encourage drivers to avoid viewing text messages while they drive. “As you drive today, please put your cell phone away and drive safely. Your messages will be there when you arrive at your destination. Make sure that you arrive safely, too,” pleads a message on the group’s website.

Hartke learned about the organization after seeing an episode of the popular ABC television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

The organization was created in memory of Alex Brown, a Texas teenager who was killed in a single-vehicle accident caused by texting while driving.

“I don’t want my friends to end up like that,” Hartke said.