Simulated Crash Scene Shows Virginia Students Dangers of Drunk Driving
May 01—NEWPORT NEWS—A teenager was lying on the ground when emergency crews arrived. Two others were trapped inside a car. A fourth was up walking around the two crashed vehicles, one mangled beyond repair.
Newport News police, sheriff's deputies and firefighter medics were called to the crash site about 9 a.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Denbigh High School. The accident was a simulated crash scene to show students the dangers of drunk driving. The annual program, called "Every 15 Minutes," is hosted by Newport News Public Schools.
For the purposes of the training exercise, four different scenarios played out for the victims of the simulated accident. The teenager who was ejected from the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Another teen, who was trapped inside a car, was flown to Riverside Hospital where she died. A third student, who was also pulled from the car, was injured and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Police determined the student who was up walking had been drinking alcohol. He was arrested and charged with DUI.
The story continues into the emergency room where the parents of the students who were killed show up. Students eventually visit the morgue, the Peninsula Funeral Home, the Newport News City Jail, General District Court, and the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
The presence of characters, like a grim reaper and a group of students in costume called "the living dead," remind the high-schoolers that the demonstration isn't real. But the working professionals treat the scenario as if it were an actual emergency.
Driving with lights and sirens down Denbigh Boulevard, firefighter medics heard from dispatchers over the emergency scanner that they had a two-vehicle accident. A person was possibly ejected from a vehicle, and they had a "working extrication," which means that patients were believed to be trapped.
On scene, firefighter medics quickly surveyed the damage and looked for potential patients. That's important because 911 callers usually don't provide all the details, and the information provided is not always correct, according to Lt. Pat Burno.
"A lot of the time the information that comes in changes," he said.
The crews were divided up by the type of vehicle in which they responded. Burno was in Rescue 2, one of the department's technical rescue trucks, which has specialized tools and trained staff for complex rescue situations. Crews on two medic units also responded to care for the patients, as well as other fire department vehicles to assist.
The technical staff stabilized the car and quickly cut off its top to pull out the people trapped inside. Medics stood nearby ready to treat the patients as soon as they were free. The crews worked quickly. The second patient was loaded into the ambulance less than 15 minutes after they arrived. The helicopter landed about five minutes later.
Medics made the call to transport one of the simulated patients by air because she was critically injured, according to firefighter medic Brad Berrier. She was unresponsive and likely had injuries to her head, as well as other unknown internal injuries, he said.
"She wasn't talking. She wasn't breathing ... so we were breathing for her," he said. "Time is critical."
Battalion Chief Stephen Pincus said the exercise is good for firefighter medics because it gives them training for actual emergencies. Department officials also see it as an opportunity for community outreach that might make people think before they drink and drive.
First responders often put on a "tough image," Pincus said, but most are affected when patients are badly injured or die.
"It really does affect you emotionally," he said. "We take that, we live with that, but it can be really emotionally draining for the responders."
Copyright 2015 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
