Mock accident drives home message to SPF Students
Borough of Fanwood
There was an awful drunk driving accident at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School the morning of November 16, 2023, but it was all staged to simulate the damage, grief and death that result from poor decisions behind the wheel.
First responders raced to the scene on Happle Court where a car hit a student riding her bike, then crashed into a tree. Lights and sirens filled the air as groups of students took turns watching the fake accident scene that was quite real looking. It featured an unresponsive victim, a distraught passenger and a driver placed under arrest. The scene was repeated a number of times so that multiple groups of students could see.
“We’re trying to promote making the right decisions when it comes to being responsible behind the wheel,” said Sgt. Mike Baltazar of the Scotch Plains Police Department.”
“Put down the cell phones. Ignore the radio, the GPS, whatever it may be,” said Sgt. Gerard Rites, Scotch Plains Police Department to the group of students watching. “Ignore your friends telling you to go faster.”
In the end everyone walked away with smiles and a new appreciation for the damage drunk or distracted driving can do. Students and teachers played the victims, driver and grieving parents.
Police from Fanwood and Scotch Plains, EMTs from the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad, paramedics from JFK Medical Center and firefighters from the Scotch Plains Fire Department did everything they would actually do at such a scene including stabilizing the car, transporting the surviving victim and pronouncing the unresponsive young woman dead at the scene.
The SPF High chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) teamed with local responders to make the scene as real as possible.
Photos by Tom Kranz
