A Mock ‘Fatal’ Crash At NHS Offers A Sobering Lesson

By Susan Coney

Punctuating the end of a monthlong community effort underscoring the hazards of alcohol use and abuse by underage adolescents, a mock “fatal” multivehicle crash unfolded dramatically on the football field at Newtown High School on Tuesday morning.

The event was planned and coordinated by the NHS Chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) to educate fellow students about the dangers of underage drinking.

Upon arrival at school that day, the entire student body gathered in the football stadium to observe a demonstration of what could take place at the scene of a car accident. A fictitious scenario played out portraying six teens involved in a two-car accident.

As a passing jogger comes upon the accident he notifies 911 and the drama begins. First to arrive at the scene were two police cars. Next, three fire trucks responded from Sandy Hook Fire and Rescue, followed by two ambulances from Newtown Ambulance.

As the emergency responders arrived and commenced their work, the student body is given a blow-by-blow description of the events by a commentator located in the stadium press box, describing what had happened and speculating on the cause of the accident.

Was it speeding? Reaching for the cell phone? Distraction by a passenger? Or was it alcohol?

As the students watched the scene unfold they saw that one teen had been thrown from the vehicle and ended up on the windshield of the Jeep Cherokee in which she had been riding. They heard the desperate screams of the teens trapped in their mangled cars.

Newtown’s volunteers responded to the difficult task at hand. EMTs provided first aid care at the scene and prepared the injured to be transported to the hospital. The police officers questioned the uninjured driver who caused the accident and administered a Breathalyzer test to check for intoxication.

The result of the test was positive and the teen was read his rights, handcuffed, and placed in the back of the patrol car.

The Sandy Hook Fire and Rescue team worked feverishly to extricate the injured teens from the Pontiac Grand Am, which had been innocently involved in the accident. Placing a blanket over the trapped victims to protect them from the flying glass, the firefighters work diligently to remove the windshield and cut the top off the auto to free the teens. Sadly in this fictitious scenario, one of the teens did not survive the impact of the crash and was placed in a body bag and removed from the scene. Firefighters stood by hose-in-hand in the event a car fire ignited.

The Eagle One Police Aviation Unit helicopter arrived at the scene to airlift a severely injured passenger; unfortunately it became clear that that teen passed away as well. Two deaths and three injuries were the result of a teen driving while intoxicated.

Reflections

At the conclusion of the mock crash demonstration, the students quietly filed back into the building where they listened to speakers talk about the negative consequences of drinking. The student body was told that the mock crash, which is staged about every four years, is based on a horrific alcohol-related accident that occurred in 1983 and killed several Newtown High School students.

Mike Nastri, president of SADD, played the role of the driver in the car that was hit. He spoke first and recalled how he felt. “The passenger next to me was dead. I was covered with a sheet, not knowing what was going on, hearing the glass break and the saws roar as the firefighters cut the top off of the car. It seemed like a long time, it was scary. I got to feel what it would be like for a second,” he said.

Guest speaker Mark Norse spoke of the brain injury he received in 1983 as the result of driving his motorcycle while intoxicated. He told the audience that he was a popular jock in high school. Mr Norse related, “I was unstoppable. I was the kid everyone wanted to be.”

Alcohol and drugs became the main focus in his life. He started abusing both substances in high school and the abuse escalated in college, leading him to drop out. He moved to Danbury, living in an apartment and partying excessively. Mr Norse said that one night he hopped on his bike to go to the liquor store to buy more alcohol to continue partying with friends; he was already intoxicated and ran into a plumbing truck. He sustained multiple injuries and extensive brain damage.

Today Mark Norse lives in a group home. He has had numerous surgeries and continues to have a seizure disorder. He walks slowly with a cane and talks slowly, often times forgetting the simplest things such as whether he ate breakfast that day or not. He suffers from depression.

Mr Norse told the student body that he was just like them. “I thought I was invincible. I thought I would party when I was young and then grow out of the drugs and alcohol scene and become a responsible adult. I didn’t get the chance. I will never play sports or ski again. I will never drive again. I use to think driving was a right; it is a gift, a privilege,” he said.

“Little kids stare at me, adults talk down to me, and doctors talk through me. I am 40 years old; you can talk to me,” he pleaded.

Mr Norse went on to tell the audience that if you use alcohol or drugs life can change in a split second with one wrong decision. He summed up by saying, “My experience could have been worse. I could have hurt or killed someone else. That’s a hell of a hangover!

“I don’t get paid for speaking to young people. The most I ever got out of it was an invitation to lunch. I get a lot personally out of speaking. People tell me how I helped them or a friend or loved one,” he said.

A second quest speaker, Clayton Potter, also received a brain injury operating a motorcycle while intoxicated. He stressed to the students that he was always in denial about his alcohol problem, but feels that his accident turned his life around and made him refocus his priorities in a positive direction.

“Life is a mystery, it is the greatest gift,” he told the audience. Today Mr Potter lives independently. He works part time and also volunteers in the community.

Both men credit Abilities Beyond Disabilities, an organization established in 1953, for helping them by providing them with emotional support, training, teaching job skills, finding housing, and getting their lives back on track. Both men stressed the same message to the young audience: that everyday you must get out of bed and make choices. You need a clear mind to make good choices; learn from our mistakes, they said.

Nick Paproski was the final speaker at the assembly. He is a student as well as a volunteer EMT and firefighter. Nick joined the fire department about two years ago when he observed an accident that occurred right outside his home.

He told the students, “I remember watching the volunteer kids, not much older than myself, helping out the victims. I was in awe. I wanted to be part of it.” Nick encouraged students to get involved at the fire department as an alternative to drinking. “We have five fire districts, join one closet to your home; you are never too young to get started,” he said.

After the assembly the students returned to their classrooms where they discussed the morning’s events and completed a survey. Each classroom had two teachers involved in the small group discussions. The high school also has six guidance counselors and substance abuse counselor Karen Amoroso on staff to help students.

The tremendous amount of work that went into coordinating the mock crash was truly a group effort, stressed school nurse Dee Cupole and District Health Coordinator Judy Blanchard.

In addition to SADD, Newtown Youth Services sponsors a group called WIRED (We Invite Rethinking about Engaging in Drugs and Drinking), which is also sponsoring underage drinking awareness in the community. The event could not have taken place without the Sandy Hook Fire and Rescue team, Newtown Police, Newtown Ambulance Corps and its EMTs, and Eagle One Police Aviation Unit helicopter and crew. Others involved were Newtown Police Department School Resource Officer Steve Ketchum, student volunteer Nick Paproski, Rich Novia and tech crew, Park and Recreation Department, the Highway Department, the school maintenance and custodial staff, and Honan Funeral Home.

The events organizers extended special thanks to the young actors involved in the skit: Dan Gindraus, Kevin Quinn, Mike Nastri, Ashley Gabor, Shannon Kirch, Rita Magliocco, and Alex Konneker.