Firefighters practice with the Jaws of Life during a mock accident last week at Wahconah Regional High School.
Kaitlyn Martyny, sophomore, and Jackson Crow, junior, acted out a scene as students arrived at the high school to demonstrate the dangers of distracted and impaired driving.
Dalton and Windsor fire departments collaborated with the Dalton Police and Wahconah Regional High School to host the demonstration.
Sayers Auto Wrecking furnished two vehicles to stage the crash at Wahconah.
DALTON, Mass. — With graduation and prom season upon us, the Fire Department wants to remind people to drive safely and make good choices.
Last Friday, personnel from the Dalton and Windsor fire departments collaborated with the Dalton Police and Wahconah Regional High School to host a mock car accident, with vehicles from Sayers' Auto Wrecking.
"It's just a reality check for the kids and helps them make the right choices," said Fire Deputy Chief Michael Cachat.
As students arrived at the school, they were surprised to see two of their peers forewarning the consequences of distracted or impaired driving.
Kaitlyn Martyny, sophomore, and Jackson Crow, junior, acted out the scenario of an accident caused by driving under the influence.
The scene was set up to look like the car had slammed into a tree, with another vehicle hitting the back end and rolling over, firefighter Owen Hoffman said.
"We had me over by the car, and I was running field sobriety tests and getting put in handcuffs, and walked over to a cruiser, and then we'd go back and we'd repeat the scene," Crow said. Martyny was on a gurney as the injured victim.
"It's just important to be safe. It's a huge responsibility when you're driving cars, and even larger, when you're driving other people around. The scenario had me driving [Martyny] around, and the scene had me walking upright, fine, but [Martyny was] in a gurney."
He stressed that "Even if you're not the one that's injured, you've done irreparable harm. So, that's sort of the big thing that we wanted to push in that whole scenario, and just promote the safety and like being smart about it."
Hoffman highlighted how the display not only impacted the students but the parents as well, with the hope they, too, emphasize to their kids the importance of safe driving.
Crow and Martyny highlighted ways students can be safe driving including, never drink and drive, avoid texting while driving, and minimize distractions from other passengers in the car.
If students need to use their phones use hands-free options or pull over safely when receiving phone calls, Crow said.
Crow also recommended talking to trusted individuals to make a plan before foing out or getting a ride. If they are unable to get a ride, they can call the police for a safe ride home.
"I spoke with one of the officers about ways that people can stay safe if they can't drive or they can't get a trusted individual to drive them, and kids can always call the police. They're not going to get you in trouble for drinking," Crow said.
"They're going to make sure you get home safe. They're going to make sure that everyone at your whole party, or whoever you're around, they get home safe too, because at that point that's what's more important."
The collaboration between the public safety personnel and the students is important because they want to ensure students feel safe, Martyny said.
"I think it's important to build that relationship," she said.
There are headlines that show the importance of building a relationship between public safety organizations and the schools, said Principal Aaron Robb.
"There's things that happen in the schools that bleed over into the community, and things that happen in the community that spill over into the schools, so being in regular communication with one another and having a good working relationship is very important," he said.
"I feel like we do have a very good relationship. With, the emergency services, police and fire here in Dalton."
The demonstration gave an inside look into what emergency personnel see in their jobs, Crow said.
"It's just really interesting that that's sort of what they do every day and like, it's sort of a jarring experience for you, even though you're in on it," he said.
Having students participate in the mock accident made the situation more tangible, Crow said, because their peers recognized those involved.
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