LAWRENCE- Students watch devastation caused by drunken drivers

   The green Pontiac sedan slammed into the passenger side of the powder blue Honda Civic, crushing the door on the smaller car â€" and the teenager sitting in the passenger’s seat.

   It was quiet â€" until one of the backseat passengers in the Pontiac yelled, â€Å"Let me out. Let me go.�

   A witness called 911 and a couple of minutes later â€" although it seemed like hours â€" the wail of sirens filled the air. Fire trucks, police cars and an ambulance raced to the scene to reach the victims. Police officers pushed back the bystanders who wanted to help.

   But that help wasn’t necessary, because the victims weren’t really hurt â€" and the accident wasn’t really â€Å"real.� It was part of the annual drunken driving simulation arranged for the benefit of Lawrence High School seniors Friday before their senior prom.

   â€�This was a serious accident with some serious injuries,â€� Lawrence police Detective William Chester told the LHS seniors, who had gathered to watch the simulation at the Lawrence Middle School athletic field.

   â€�I know you are going to the prom and you are going to have a good time, but don’t take this as a joke,� Detective Chester said. â€Å"It happens every day to a kid in your age group. You can have a good time without drinking or taking drugs.�

   Back at the accident scene, rescue workers tried to free the passengers in the two cars â€" five people in the Pontiac and five in the Honda. Firefighters put wooden blocks underneath the front wheels of the Honda, while an emergency medical technician checked on the victims in the car.

   But the rescuers could not get to the victims, so they pulled out a hydraulic cutting tool and removed the cars’ roof and doors. They also cut the driver’s door on the Pontiac sedan, covering the driver with a white cloth to protect him from the flying debris.

   Jack Oakley, who is the township’s emergency management coordinator and a volunteer firefighter at the Slackwood Fire Company, told the seniors that the car had collapsed on the victims. The car had to be stabilized with blocks under its wheels in order to rescue the victims. If a victim’s leg is caught against a sharp piece of metal, it could sever the leg, he said.

   Once the EMTs can take a closer look at the victims, they evaluate the extent of the possible injuries. They may immobilize the victim’s head and neck to prevent additional injury before removing the victim from the car. A triage area is set up to allow them to assess the victim’s condition before transporting the person to the hospital emergency room.

   One of the victims in the Pontiac is removed from the car, placed on a backboard and carried over to the triage area. Another EMT scoops up a victim and carries the girl in his arms to the red tarp that serves as a triage area.

   â€�This is extremely critical. They are trying to save her life,â€� Detective Chester told the students, as a pair of EMTs performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her. But her injuries are too severe, and they drape a white cloth over her body.

   Meanwhile, firefighters continue to cut away parts of the two cars and toss them to one side â€" a windshield and a door. They remove the top of the Honda, as a police officer escorts the victim’s mother away from the scene.

   â€�Murderer,â€� she yells at the driver of the Pontiac, who has exited the car. She falls to her knees, crying, as police Detective Scott Calioaro gives a field sobriety test to the driver because he is suspected of being drunk. He fails the test.

   Detective Calioaro arrests the driver, and discovers that he has marijuana in his possession.

   More victims are carried to the triage area, where their injuries are assessed and their medical condition is stabilized. Bystanders console each other. It has taken 43 minutes to remove the last victim from the cars, Detective Chester said.

   Of the nine â€Å"victims� â€" the drunken driver was not injured â€" three went home that night, said Christine Vincent, the Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Services supervisor. One victim died at the scene, and three â€Å"coded out� â€" but two victims were revived, she said.

   â€�One, if not two, will end up in a wheelchair for the rest of their lives,� Ms. Vincent said. â€Å"Another will be bed-ridden. This is very, very realistic. We see this stuff all too often. Don’t drink and drive. The worst part of it is, you do it to your parents. They’ll get a call at midnight to go to the emergency room.�

   Once the victims were removed from the mangled cars, the seniors were escorted to the LHS auditorium to find out what happens in a typical hospital emergency room after a serious car accident. They also learned about the legal consequences of being involved in an accident â€" especially one that involves drunken driving.

   Marian Moore, the trauma program manager at the Bristol Myers-Squibb Trauma Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, recited some statistics to the students. She pointed out that motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for young people between 15 and 20 years old.

   Victims suffer primary and secondary injuries in a motor vehicle accident, Ms. Moore said. The primary injury occurs when the driver’s chest strikes the steering wheel. The secondary injury occurs when the brain hits the skull and the internal organs strike the ribcage â€" because even though the body has stopped moving, the internal organs have not. The result is bleeding and internal injuries.

   The victims are scooped up and taken to the emergency room, where â€Å"things happen quickly� under conditions that Ms. Moore called â€Å"controlled chaos.� This involves cutting away the victim’s clothing so emergency room personnel can assess the injuries.

   It may be necessary to insert tubes in the victim’s nose, she said, adding that â€Å"if you have an opening in your body, I have a tube that can go in it.�

   The students gasped as Ms. Moore showed graphic photographs of accident victims â€" a young man with black eyes and tubes in his nose, a woman whose leg was turned completely around because of a fracture and a young girl who suffered cuts to her neck from broken glass.

   â€�I hope you have a lot of fun. Wear your seat belts, pay attention and don’t drink. I don’t want to see you here (in the emergency room), or your friends will see you there,â€� Ms. Moore said, as she showed a photography of a cemetery.

   Back in the â€Å"courtroom� â€" the auditorium stage â€" Municipal Court Judge Brian Duff explained the consequences to the driver, who has been charged with two counts of manslaughter and seven counts of aggravated assault by automobile, in addition to driving under the influence.

   Judge Duff â€" who in real life is an attorney â€" set bail for the driver that totaled in excess of $1.3 million. The driver was sent to the Mercer County Corrections Center because he was unable to post bail. And given the nature of the charges, the case was set to be heard in state Superior Court.

   â€�There was a lot of alcohol involved. Two people died in the accident, and seven people were injured. Remember, (in real life) this cannot be undone,â€� Judge Duff said of the fictitious accident.

   Detective Chester reinforced the message, recalling the story of a classmate at Lawrence High School who attended school with him until the teenager was killed in a motor vehicle accident that involved a drunken driver. The victim was â€Å"a very popular guy,� he said.

   â€�The guy who was driving survived,� Detective Chester said of the accident. â€Å"It could happen to you. You have to be smart and you have to be responsible. Go to the prom, have a good time, have respect for yourself and have respect for other people.�