Mock DWI accident offers realistic scare

Students take on roles of crash victims, complete with death masks, By Ashley Morgan Wantage — It was blood and gore on the grounds of High Point Regional High School Tuesday, when a mock DWI accident was staged in a graphic effort to persuade students not to drink and drive. The 15-Minute Program — so named because every 15 minutes someone dies from an alcohol-related collision — is a nationally recognized program. Throughout the day, students were pulled from their classrooms by a State Trooper and a pastor. Then, in the classroom, those remaining heard an obituary read to them by other students posing as the parents of the student who “died” in the pretend crash. Those “living dead” then appeared with their faces were painted white, dressed in all black and they were not allowed to interact with anyone for the rest of the day. The scene opened as student Matt Heymem stumbled, apparently drunk, out of his blue car after an accident. Other students then began to emerge from the other car involved in the crash but that driver and passengers had not been drinking. Slowly the scene unfolded as the victims staggered around the cars and assessed the situation. Taylor Torppey, another student, was sprawled and motionless on the hood of Matt’s car, played the part of a victim, dead on arrival. Police arrived. Matt was given a sobriety test, arrested, handcuffed, put in a New Jersey State Trooper cruiser. When rescue workers arrived they were faced with two wrecked cars and the following six individuals, who all needed help: 1 drunk driver (Matt Heymem) 1 individual who needed a Medi-vac (Melissa Dones) 1 in critical condition (Jason Steiger) 2 walking wounded (Luke Gomez and Alicia Coursen) 1 DOA (Taylor Torppey) In the audience Those students who were not in the cast, assembled watching in silence, sitting almost completely still, gripped by the action. After Taylor’s body was covered with a white sheet the impact of the event set in, and some of the students began to hold each other. Some cried. In the final scene, Michelle Torppey, Taylor’s mother, was led to the scene by paramedics Dean Snook and John Cronin. When the body was uncovered for identification, Michelle Torppey let out a scream and broke down, falling to her knees, next to her daughter. She was then led away; the body of Taylor Torppey was loaded on a gurney and taken to a nearby hearse. On the sidelines, the students sat in silence. No one moved, until Kate Kelly, one of the program’s organizers, announced that the event was over and students should return to their ninth-period classrooms. Keeping it real On day two of the event, a memorial service will be held for the “dead” students. The living dead students will have spent the night at the school, away from their families, to further express the impact that drunk drivers have on others. Many local rescue units took place in the events, including: Saint Clare’s Hospital EMS, Wantage Township Firefighters and Emergency Services, and New Jersey State Police. It was hoped that a helicopter would have landed to evacuate one of the victims, but the chopper was busy with a real emergency.