(PHOTOS BY JESSE DAVIS/THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES … Student actor LilyAnn Gasche, who portrayed the drunk driver in the mock crash, is given a field sobriety test by an officer with the Swanton Police Department.
HEADED TO THE HOSPITAL … Fire department personnel move a victim in the vehicle driven by an inebriated person in the mock crash to a gurney before loading them into a waiting ambulance.
NOT EVERYONE SURVIVES … Funeral home staff load the body of a deceased mock crash victim portrayed by student actor Kiera Floyd into the back of a hearse.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Students were presented with a graphic, live-action example of what actually happens following a drunk/drugged or distracted driving accident during a mock crash at Swanton High School on Tuesday.
The recreation, held on the school’s football field in front of students from Swanton as well as Fayette High School, involved a staged crash scene with actual wrecked vehicles, student actors portraying the injured or deceased occupants, and local emergency responders reacting how they would at a real crash.
“This is where it gets real,” Swanton High School Principal Anthony Menna told students prior to the reenactment.
“What you’re about to witness is not just a demonstration, it is a reality for many people. Today’s assembly will be intense, it will be emotional, it will be uncomfortable – and that is intentional.”
“The goal of this mock crash is to show you in the most realistic way possible what can happen when people make decisions to get behind the wheel intoxicated, whether you’re driving under the influence, texting while driving, or any other distraction, those choices have consequences.”
The incident began with a staged, prerecorded 911 call followed by tarps being removed to unveil the crash. Officers then approached and began assessing the scene, followed shortly by firefighters who began triaging patients inside the vehicles.
They were eventually followed by Ohio Highway Patrol troopers who measured the scene and funeral home staff who took away a “deceased” victim.
Throughout the reenactment, all the emergency responders used their radios, and the traffic was broadcast over the speakers for students to hear.
A ProMedica helicopter was also planned to be involved but had to cancel due to weather making the flight too challenging. In real-life scenarios where the helicopter is unavailable, emergency ground transport is made to the nearest trauma center.
Over the course of the demonstration, students witnessed a field sobriety test, victims extricated from vehicles, the use of heavy equipment to cut open one of the vehicles, and transport by ambulance of living victims, among other actions.
All the while, the clock on the scoreboard marked of time of the so-called “magic hour” – the first hour after an accident where the most good can be done for anyone injured in the crash.
After the reenactment, students went inside for an additional presentation featuring more statistics about drunk/drugged and distracted driving crashes and times of day (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and year (Memorial Day to Labor Day) during which such accidents are more common.
Over the course of that week, students also had access to a driving simulator in the cafeteria during lunch.
Organization of the reenactment was a joint effort between the Swanton Area Community Coalition and Swanton Police Department Officer and SHS School Resource Officer Troy Steward.
“It’s really important we do this; we haven’t done one in Swanton in a long time. Our SRO – Officer Stewart – and I have talked about it multiple times and he said, ‘We’re just gonna do it,’ so here we are,” SACC Director Mackenzi Roytek said.
Stewart said his tenure as school resource officer, which began last November, has been going well. He said he was excited for the opportunity to provide the learning experience for local students.
“I just really wanted it to be really eye-opening on the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs around prom time, with graduation and summer also coming up,” he said.
The Swanton Police Department, Swanton Fire & Rescue Division, Ridgefield Township Fire Department, and Ohio Highway Patrol were all involved in the reenactment, with consultation from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.