Simulation shows results of drunk driving
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
A prom night drunk driving collision was staged in front of Centre High School April 23 to impress upon students the importance of making wise choices.
"When you make foolish choices or get into a vehicle with someone who has done that, that's a stupid choice," said JoAnn Knak, director of Marion County Emergency Medical Services.
Rain was falling as students from grades seven through 12 poured out of the building and gathered under the front entrance canopy to watch as emergency crews responded to the scene of the collision.
The mock scenario involved two cars: a red one with two teenagers — a drunk driver and a passenger (portrayed by Derek Belton and Nathan Brunner) and a white car with three other teen-agers (portrayed by Todd Stahlecker as driver and Kristin Mueller and Melissa Kaiser as passengers).
The collision had caused the front seat passenger in the white car to fly through the windshield. She was flipped onto the hood of the red car. The driver of the white car was knocked into the passenger side of the car. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts.
Lincolnville first responders were first on the scene, soon followed by Tampa-based county ambulance and a Marion-based backup ambulance. Lincolnville fire and rescue truck and sheriff's officers also arrived.
Emergency medical technicians assessed the situation. It was determined that the girl on the hood was dead. Her body was placed in a black body bag and then into a hearse driven by Vance Donahue from Donahue Funeral Home in Herington.
The driver of the white car was unconscious and had suffered serious head injuries. The Jaws of Life were used to open the car door and remove him. He was strapped onto a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance. (Because of the rain, the LifeTeam helicopter was unable to appear.)
The drunk driver was arrested by a police officer. One other passenger was taken by ambulance to St. Luke Hospital to be treated for survivable injuries. The remaining teen-ager was not injured and walked away.
None of the teen-agers had been wearing seatbelts.
With this scene imprinted on their minds, students returned to the building in a subdued frame of mind to view a video made by Marion EMT Gene Winkler in an ambulance and at the emergency room at St. Luke Hospital. It was a simulation of two accident victims being treated for their injuries.
The doctor came out and told a father that his child had suffered severe brain damage and would be confined to a wheel chair for life. The teen-ager was being air-lifted to Wichita.
Jesse Brunner, Tampa EMT, introduced Joyce Dirks of Tampa, mother of 17-year-old Heidi Dirks, who was killed in November in a one-car accident just two miles from home.
"I look at you and I see life, I see Heidi," she told the students. "Heidi was just like you. She liked cats and had horses and a pony. She had part-time jobs and was anticipating the future."
She described the shock the family went through when they heard of the accident, then had to view their daughters' still form. Heidi's younger sisters and 16-year-old brother Josh were inconsolable.
After EMTs transported Heidi to Hillsboro Community Medical Center and restored a heartbeat, Heidi was flown to Wichita. Doctors there said she had been deprived of oxygen and had brain damage.
Joyce said she prayed that God would either take Heidi or let her get well. She said she held her hand all night and talked to her. Heidi died the next day.
"You can't imagine what it was like to bury a child," she told the students. "Be careful. Wear your seat belt. Heidi usually did, but wasn't wearing it that day."
"Be careful!" she said again.
The exact cause of the accident was never determined. The car was almost unscathed but ended up in a steep ditch. "Sometimes things just happen," Brunner said.
Brunner introduced emergency personnel who were involved in the staged event. They included Tampa EMTs Ron Mueller, Francie Mueller, and Melissa Brunner, Tampa fireman Tim Svoboda, mortician Vance Donahue of Herington, first responder David Kaiser and Lester Kaiser, fire chief, both from Lincolnville; Ron and Leona Hajek, standbys from Lost Springs Fire Department, and Steve and Staci Smith, Marion EMTs.
Staci showed a series of slides depicting a young girl who was hit by a drunk driver and left in a vegetative state for life.
Knak impressed upon the students their responsibility to make wise choices.
"You don't have the right to cause me (as a parent) to bury you or care for you for the rest of your life," she said.
"Think about it: How do you want to spend the rest of your life?"
