Derby emergency responders attempted to puncture the sense of invincibility that is the teenage psyche during a deliberately gory “Drive Alive” presentation Wednesday morning.
The Derby High School prom is Friday (May 16), so the goal was to get the senior class to stop and think before making bad decisions combining drugs, booze and motor vehicles.
It included an assembly with speakers from the Derby Fire Department, the Derby Police Department and the Derby Youth Services Bureau.
But it wasn’t just adults lecturing kids about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Derby Fire Chief Thomas Lenart, Jr. grew up in Derby and attended Derby schools. So did Derby firefighter Louis Oliwa — and Derby police detectives John Netto and Tim Conlon, and Derby Youth Services Director John Saccu.
And Derby’s a very small city.
So the chances are if one of the kids at that assembly gets hurt in a car wreck on Friday in Derby, Lenart, Oliwa, Netto, Conlon or Saccu would probably have a connection, whether it be direct or through friends and family.
“We all grew up here. We’ve spent our lives here. We don’t want to see anyone from Derby get hurt,” Lenart said.
“When it comes to DUI, it is a terrible choice, and it is not an accident,” Netto said.
After the talk, the senior class went outside to the parking lot where police, fire and medics from Ansonia Rescue Medical Services demonstrated what it’s like to respond to a horrific, head-on, two-car DUI crash.
The demo was complete with screaming, fake blood, a field sobriety test, and an arrest.
Firefighters then used the “jaws of life,” hydraulic cutting tools, to free students “trapped” in the two wrecked cars.
The students who acted as crash victims included Laney Lopez, 17, Derick Evans, 19, Esad Basuljevic, 19, Sammie Kusterer, 16 and Zach Corrigan, 17.
Click through the photos or click the video to get a glimpse at the demonstration.
Derby High School Principal Greg Gaillard said the message hit home with the school.
“No matter how many times I see this, it is always unnerving,” Gaillard said.
Wednesday’s “Drive Alive” was the 24th year Derby emergency responders have put on a demonstration at the high school.
Here is the video students watched during the assembly, courtesy of Derby firefighter Brian Mezzapelle:
