Coastal Journal from Bath, Maine • CJ2

by Chris Chase Coastal Journal staff FREEPORT Snow Road, located just behind Freeport High School, was the scene of a gruesome accident May 29. Two cars with eight students on their way to senior prom collid- ed head-on, ejecting a passen- ger from one vehicle, and kill- ing the driver of the other. Thankfully, the accident was just a mock one, organized by Freeport High School. Fake blood, real vehicles (donated by Atlantic Coast Towing), and Freeport firefighters and police officers all added to the realism of the simulated crash that was intended to emulate a real one as closely as possible. intent is to drive the point home (about distracted said Dede Bennell, service learning coordinator for Freeport High School.

felt really strongly that students should witness A few hundred students lined the fence nearby, watching events unfold: From the first group of students that pened the scene and called emergency services to firefighters using the Jaws of Life to cut the door off one of the vehicles to pull out a student covered by a white sheet. Many of the students in- volved in the crash participate in Freeport High the- ater program, organized by Tim Ryan, an educational tech- nician. was in charge of the said Ryan. made sure seasoned veterans were the actors played a large part in making the crash belie- veable coated in fake blood and remaining still (or scream- ing) without breaking charac- ter, even during the humid day. Kayla Belanger posed on the hood of a vehicle, and got what was possibly the most graphic part to play.

Wearing a white dress, and covered in fake blood, she was tasked with re- maining completely still during the entire event. Belanger said she volun- teered out of interest and for the experience. am not a part of the drama club or anything, I just thought it would be really inspiring and meaningful to do she said. such a seri- ous topic and I felt that I could take that Resource Officer Michael McManus was one of the driv- ing forces behind the mock crash. He organized one sever- al years ago, and said the idea was brought up again by stu- dents and parents interested in having another.

The mock crash actually hours before, with student volunteers participat- ing in an event called ery 15 All day, in 15-minute intervals, a student would be taken from class by the (a student in costume) and have their face painted white to represent the fact that every 15 minutes, someone dies in a car crash. But according to McManus, nothing can substitute for see- ing a realistic crash scene in person. makes a big impact on Acting Fire Chief Paul Con- ley also participated, narrating the actions of the fire depart- ment. Sirens wailed as emer- gency vehicles arrived one after the other, and the scene became a buzz of activity as firefighters set to work. Stu- dents were braced and carried off on stretchers, and the Jaws of Life was used to remove the roof and door of one vehicle to safely extract a victim.

Conley said his hope is that students take home the im- pact a crash can have on the community. pieces of this will have an affect on them. The sirens, or the sounds of the hydraulic equipment, or the said Conley. Regardless of whether stu- dents take the mock crash seri- ously, they will think about it in some way, McManus said. still there.

still in the back of their said McManus. what this is for to try to get the kids to According to Belanger, a lot of her friends told her that the event really made them think about what it would be like to actually lose her in a car acci- dent. were getting in the mindset of my gosh, what if this did happen to The timing also worked well, as Freeport High se- nior prom was held the next day. Luckily for Belanger, the fake blood was easily cleaned up in time for the dance. even know how many times I asked, will come off she said.

2 a a a June 4, 2015 Mock crash staged at Freeport High School Chris Chase Coastal Journal Kayla Belanger stays as still as possible while posing as a crash victim fake blood and all during Freeport High mock crash event. Chris Chase Coastal Journal Hundreds of Freeport High School students watched as Freeport emergency services quickly got to work during a mock crash event May 29..