In drizzling rain, students converged around the smashed-up vehicle covered by an orange tarp. A young woman’s hand and corsage hung from beneath the tarp as blood trickled to the road below.
Luckily, it was only a demonstration.
Lakeshore emergency crews and student actors from St. Anne high school put on a mock accident simulation behind the school Wednesday to remind students the cost of drinking and driving as prom season approaches. Ontario Provincial Police, Essex Windsor EMS and the Lakeshore Fire Department were also part of the event.
The demonstration started with a scene being played out over loud speakers. It’s prom time, music is pumping, students are celebrating, beverages are being cracked open and then … smash. The party ends with a collision.
During the drama, the character played by Julia Fitzpatrick survives the crash with minimal injuries but she’s concerned for her friends. She calls 911.
“My friend, she’s not moving. I don’t think she’s breathing,” Fitzpatrick pleads with the operator. “We hit a pole. There’s four of us.”
Within moments sirens could be heard and an ambulance, a fire truck and a police cruiser pulled up. The driver of the damages car was arrested as part of the scene. Firefighters used the jaws of life to cut the roof from the car and extracted an “injured” passenger from the backseat. The fourth occupant was proclaimed dead.
Lakeshore Fire Chief Joe St. Louis helped organize the presentation and was one of the firefighters extracting the teens from the donated Honda Accord provided by Myers Towing.
“We try to make it as realistic as possible,” said St. Louis. “We want to show them accidents aren’t just fender benders. We want to impact them with the seriousness of an accident and that it can be debilitating. It could be years of recovery or it could be death.”
The St. Anne prom is scheduled for May 23 and this week is Saints Soar week at the school, encouraging healthy mind, body and spirit.
“Stay safe, play smart. You can still have fun, just don’t drink and drive,” said St. Louis. “You just want to see them have a good time and grow old.”
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