Pre-Prom Exercise Reminds Students About Dangers of Impaired and Distracted Driving [Video]

Lawrence Township police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel this morning (Friday, April 20) staged a mock motor vehicle collision on the grounds of in an effort to remind students of the dangers of impaired and distracted driving on the eve of the senior prom to be held later this evening at The Merion in Cinnaminson.

Also taking part in the demonstration were Capital Health System paramedics, detectives from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, and the flight crew of the New Jersey State Police’s NorthStar medical helicopter.  

The exercise replicated a two-vehicle collision with multiple fatalities. Student volunteers wearing makeup pretended to be accident victims. Some were “killed” in the crash, while others were trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated by emergency crews. Firefighters cut the roof off one of the vehicles to free some of the “victims.”

While students seated on bleachers watched the simulated rescue effort unfold, Detective Scott Caloiaro explained what was happening and how driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or driving while districted by texting or talking on a cell phone can have deadly consequences.

The images were realistic even though the students knew the blood that covered the victims was fake: A police officer administered field sobriety tests to one of the “drivers” involved in the accident; another officer held back a “grieving parent” who rushed into the scene; firefighters used hydraulic rescue tools to cut through metal and remove car doors; the state police helicopter landed on the high school football field; and medical workers simulated CPR on the “victims.”

After the outdoor activities had concluded, students went back into the school to witness a mock trial in which one of the drivers was convicted in connection with the deaths of his friends.