KILLINGLY -- A grim scene greeted Killingly High School upperclassmen when they went outside the school Wednesday morning.
Two cars filled with students had collided on Westfield Avenue.
One girl lay dead on the road beside the wreckage. A boy lay sprawled across the hood of the other car, fatally injured when he was ejected on impact through the windshield. Three other teens were injured and trapped in the wreckage of the two cars.
As the students gathered, they were greeted with the sound of a frantic call to the 911 dispatch center, as an hysterical girl reported the accident to emergency dispatchers.
Within minutes, the street was filled with fire trucks, ambulances and state police cruisers.
Emergency medical technicians and ambulance personnel immediately began the task of caring for the victims, while other firefighters began using power equipment to cut away a door and the roof of one of the cars to extricate the injured.
The bodies of the two teens killed in the crash were placed gently on the side of the road and covered with yellow tarpaulins until a funeral home arrived and they were placed in body bags and taken away in hearses.
As the final, and most seriously injured, survivor was gently lifted from the wreckage, a medical helicopter landed behind the school, and the girl was placed into the chopper to be airlifted to a trauma center.
Fortunately for all involved, the accident was not real.
It was a mock scenario designed to forcefully show students the dangers they face by driving and drinking alcohol or riding with someone who has been drinking.
"With the prom season fast approaching -- the Junior Prom is on Friday -- we want to send a strong message to the students about the dangers of drinking and driving," said Peter Gerardi, School Resource Officer and organizer of the event. "This mock accident also gives us an opportunity to reinforce the lessons about always using seat belts and driving within the posted speed limits."
Every 2 years
Gerardi said this was the fifth mock drunken driving accident the school has conducted in the last decade.
"We do one every two years for the members of the junior and senior classes," he said. "We try to make it as realistic as possible to give the clear message that students should make responsible choices. We point out that the choices these youngsters make can affect their lives, as well as those of their family and friends, for the rest of their lives."
Student Corey Smith portrayed the drunken driver who caused the accident. He was uninjured, but was taken into custody and led away in handcuffs by Trooper Michael Picard after failing a roadside sobriety test.
Each of the "dead" and "injured" students represented a portion of the message authorities hoped to deliver.
Taylor Dube, who rode with the drunken driver, was thrown from the car and died.
Jason Bleau didn't wear a seat belt and died after he was thrown through the windshield.
Hanna Mack, the other driver, and one of her passengers, Erica Malito, failed to wear seat belts and were seriously hurt.
Roshani Vanmali used her seat belt and escaped with only minor injuries.
"This is a good lesson to have before the prom," said Gail Hart, 17, a junior, who plans to attend the prom Friday. "It's scary what can happen if you drink and drive."
Her sentiments were echoed by fellow junior Shawna Young, 16, of Rogers.
"It shows anything can happen at any moment," said Young, who has a driver's permit. "It's a good idea to have this before the prom as a reminder to be careful."
Ron Given of Route 12, Killingly, stopped by to watch the exercise.
"My daughter was one of the actors in the last mock disaster," he said.
"This is a good program. It brings awareness, and if it saves just one person's life, it's worth whatever it costs to put it on."
Gerardi said students watched a skit prior to the mock accident and then gathered for an assembly to discuss the scenario afterward.
Originally published April 26, 2007
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