There was an awful drunk driving accident at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School the morning of November 16th, 2023, but it was staged to simulate the damage, grief and death that result from poor decisions behind the wheel.
Scotch Plains EMTs “treat” unresponsive patient
First responders raced to the scene on Happle Court where a car hit a student riding her bike, then crashed into a tree. Lights and sirens filled the air as groups of students took turns watching the fake accident scene that was quite real looking. It featured an unresponsive victim, a distraught passenger and a driver placed under arrest. The scene was repeated a number of times so that multiple groups of students could see.
Paramedic pronounces victim “dead”
In the end everyone walked away with smiles and a new appreciation for the damage drunk or distracted driving can do.
Student actors Grace Bottomly, Sonya Shah and Chance Perez
Students and teachers played the victims, driver and grieving parents. Police from Fanwood and Scotch Plains, EMTs from the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad, paramedics from JFK Medical Center and firefighters from the Scotch Plains Fire Department did everything they would actually do at such a scene including stabilzing the car, transporting the surviving victim and pronouncing the unresponsive young woman dead at the scene.
SPF High SADD group
The SPF High chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) teamed with local responders to make the scene as real as possible.
All responders from Scotch Plains and Fanwood who took part in planning and execution
