Emergency Responders Stage Car Crash at PJPHS

Several local first responder departments set up a two-vehicle crash rescue demonstration for students at Pope John Paul II High School Thursday morning.

"The whole point was to get them thinking about driving after drinking or not paying attention to the road," said Royersford firefighter Dave Hummel.

Hummel said that students from the PJPII Drama Club participated, playing the crash victims, and that Royersford and Trappe Fire Departments, Upper Providence Emergency Services, the Upper Providence Police Department, MidAtlantic MedEvac and Friendship Ambulance all took part.

The scenario was set up as if two carloads of teenagers had crashed into one another.

"We played it out as the driver of one of the vehicles had been drinking, and another was texting, so they weren't paying attention," Hummel said. "We used the Jaws of Life, broke the glass, put them on gurneys, and everything. The kids were even made up to look like they were injured."

The Upper Providence police mock-arrested the student "drunk driver", and several of the volunteer victims "died" of their injuries.

Limerick Collision donated the two vehicles used in the demonstration. 

"You could see the looks on some of the kids' faces,they were pretty taken aback," Hummel said. "It was like, 'Wow.' They couldn't believe it took us that long to get the victims out of the cars."

Hummel said this is the first year they've done a demonstration like this but they are already planning on doing it again next year. 

Students who played the crash victims were Mia Borrelli, Conor Staples, Alexandra Staples, Bradley Dalton, and Brian McCluskey. 

PJPII principal Sr. Janet Purcell, school president Dr. Louis Giuliano, and assistant principals Stephanie Rowland and Diana Graebes were the administrators who helped plan the demonstration.