Happy Valley-Goose Bay students get crash course on consequences of drunk driving
A gruesome scene unfolded in front of Mealy Mountain Collegiate in Happy-Goose Bay as emergency crews staged a mock accident for students Tuesday.
Organizers hope the graphic scenes will send a message about the tragic outcomes drinking and driving can cause.
"It's kind of scary," student Nicole Kennedy said. She watched the scene unfold from behind police tape.
"I can't believe that this happens in real life."
The staged event showed a collision between a vehicle and a snowmobile. Using the Jaws of Life to remove the roof from the vehicle, three young women posing as victims were freed from the wreckage and taken away in an ambulance.
A young man, bleeding from the head and shouting belligerently, was taken away by RCMP officers in handcuffs, suspected of driving under the influence.
"For them to see it, like, just getting their licence … to see the impact of what this would cause, it's going to be perfect for them," Happy Valley-Goose Bay fire Chief Bradley Butler said.
Heart-wrenching
Hearses from Fillatre Funeral Homes also arrived on the scene, to remove two seemingly deceased men in body bags.
"The hardest part for me is not what I did this morning — taking the [fake] fatalities from the scene," said Shawn Crann, who not only runs the funeral home but is also a past president of Labrador's chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"I've got to deal with the parents when they've got to come in and pick out a casket for their child, which is heart-wrenching."
