First responders organize Prom Promise mock disaster

As high school students across Highland County prepare for the dresses and limousines of prom night, law enforcement and first-responders are preparing a pre-prom message of life-saving safety. 

In a joint effort to bring awareness to the dangers of drug- and drunk-driving, Highland County DARE, county fire departments, the Highland County Sheriff's Office, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol will create a "Prom Promise" mock disaster April 14 at the Highland County Fairgrounds. 

Jeff Bain, of Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, and Bobby Stroop, Highland County DARE officer, said that the agencies try to put on an event every other year at each county school. This year, they are putting on one large-scale event that will take students from a fatal car crash with a frantic 911 call, to emergency response and transport with a LifeFlight helicopter. 

An estimated 750-800 juniors and seniors from Hillsboro City Schools, Fairfield Local Schools, Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools, and Bright Local Schools will view the event, and the "victims" of crash will be their own classmates. 

The horse track at the fairgrounds will be the site of the collision, which will feature smoke effects, and crash sounds that will be broadcast over loud speakers. The students will be able to hear a 911 call from a victim trapped inside the car. 

Stroop said that student actors will come across the scene, realizing that their friends are trapped inside. Firefighters will arrive and will perform an extrication using the Jaws of Life. Some students will be transported with injuries in a LifeFlight helicopter, while others will be declared DOA, and will be taken from the scene by Turner Funeral Homes.

From the crash, the student audience will be taken to a "notification room" where they will see a private moment between a parent and law enforcement officer as they are told their child is dead. 

"The kids will get to see the parts they would not normally see. It's usually just the police officers or victim/witness, when well tell them, 'We're sorry for your loss,'" Stroop said. "They are really going to act it all out. You never know how a parent is going to react. But put yourself in their position. How would you act?"

From there, students will proceed to a funeral scene, setup by Thompson Funeral Home. 

"They will get to actually see the consequences of these actions," Bain said. 

They will also hear from survivors who have lived through the experience of a drunk-driving crash. 

Rosie Bates, a teacher at Fairfield, survived a crash that was caused by a drunk driver. She has been active in developing a Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) program at Fairfield, and will speak to students regarding her experiences. Students will also hear from a prosecutor regarding charges that could be brought against them if they cause a crash, and what could happen to their futures. 

Thursday evening, Bates, Bain and Stroop, met with Rachelle Truman and Janet Fair, from Lynchburg-Clay and Hillsboro High School, respectively, to discuss final details of the event. 

Following the mock disaster, students will get to view the emergency transport helicopters up-close, and view other information regarding drunk driving. 

In addition to the emergency response agencies and funeral homes, several other area organizations are contributing to the mock disaster. Food will be provided by Kroger, Ponderosa, Holtfield Station, Nichols, Pepsi and Community Markets. JB and J Towning is providing the wrecked cars, Pokey's DJ Service is providing a sound system, and Air Evac and AirCare will provide stationary helicopters to view. 

Bain said they wanted the community to be aware of the incident, which is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. until around noon on April 14, so that there is no concern an actual emergency is taking place.