Submitted by: MaKenna Klemme
On Wednesday morning, April 23rd, Easton Valley held a Mock Prom Night Accident in the back parking lot behind the school. The high school actors included Abby Felkey, Keegan Lee, Justin Weispfenning, Jeremy Weispfenning, Blake Reuter, & Austin Thomson. The first responders included the Community Ambulance, Preston Fire, Sabula Ambulance, Medforce helicopter, Preston Police Department, JCRHC Ambulance crew, and Jackson County Emergency Management. Denise Larson and Mallory Meyer brought the injuries to life with makeup.
The scenario was that one car had a drunk driver who crossed the center line on highway 64, with both vehicles going 60 mph, meeting in a head-on collision. Austin Thomson was lying on the hood of his vehicle, unresponsive, with Blake Reuter screaming for help while trapped in the passenger seat. Justin Weispfenning was the “drunk” driver of the other vehicle, with Abby Felkey unresponsive in the passenger seat after not having her seatbelt on and feet on the dashboard. Jeremy Weispfenning could be heard screaming from the back seat as Keegan Lee was unresponsive next to him.
Between the cries for help, the sirens, and the helicopter, it was difficult not to get caught up in the moment of the real-life consequences of impaired or reckless driving.
MOCK Prom Accident at Easton Valley High School this Morning- HS students played the accident victims while various departments processed the scene.
A very realistic re-enactment that was watched by the students and faculty.
A very “sobering” reminder to not drive impaired and to follow all safety rules when behind the wheel.
An unresponsive student was carefully extracted from the vehicle in which she was riding and placed on the rescue vehicle for transport to the ambulance and potentially to the Medforce helicopter if needed. In this mock situation- An older sibling came across a scene involving his younger sister. Small town responders often times know those that they are called to assist, sometimes making a difficult situation harder to react to, and yet they shift into rescue mode and
complete the necessary tasks at hand.
Mercy Medforce was called in as part of the training exercise and because of injuries sustained by the mock- victims. After the training ended, staff and students were able to look the helicopter over to get an idea of what limited space the flight crew have to navigate.
As the helicopter arrived, the law enforcement officials had secured the scene, questioned all witnesses, taken measurements and pictures, and ultimately arrested the “drunk” driver after he failed the sobriety tests. Every department received vital hands-on training in their respective areas. Again, thank you to the mock actors for assisting in that training process.
The high school students who volunteered to assist in the mock re-enactment to remind their fellow students of the dangers on the road, especially when impaired when behind the wheel. They were also great assistants for the local responders who trained for similar scenarios. Each student was assigned a specific role and types of injuries in which the responders had to access and make on the spot decisions.
Thank you to all our local volunteers who are prepared at a moment’s notice to respond to emergency situations in our area.
