Mock fatality drives home ugly point: Meant to shock Spaulding students about reality of DWI

As printed in The Fosters Daily Democrat on Saturday, May 14, 2011

By CONOR MAKEM
cmakem@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — Spaulding High School juniors and seniors evacuated the school during a fire drill Friday morning and were greeted by a grisly sight. Organizers had staged a simulated, fatal drunken driving accident.

The grounds were marked off with police tape and students were asked to stay behind it. In the middle of the lot sat a wrecked Volkswagen and senior Lauren Fortier was lying motionless on the ground in her prom dress.

Over a loudspeaker, fellow senior Ian Martin wished the crowd a happy birthday.

"That could be the last time some of you hear that," he said.

Martin, the first of several readers, was referring to the upcoming junior prom, slated for tonight, and to graduation. Concerned adults from all over the area hope the mock crash will be enough to dissuade drinking and driving as traditional celebrations get under way.

"We know these are high risk times for our juniors and seniors. We know they can make poor decisions sometimes," said Spaulding Principal Rob Seaward. "They always say 'If you can save one kid.' I'm hoping this wakes up our entire junior and senior body."

Kevin Miles and Macy Day, friends of the victims, were the first to arrive on scene, also dressed for the prom. Day began crying real tears as she saw her friend lying on the ground. She later explained that she could sense the reality of the situation being friends with the other actors.

The size of the simulation became evident to the students when they heard sirens in the distance. One student was heard to say, "I think they're coming here."

Police were the first emergency responders. Officer Michael Brinkman checked on Fortier as EMTs and fire crew arrived. Senior Nathan Mann, who was driving the vehicle was walking around in a daze as his fellow passenger, junior Michael Seavey lay motionless in the car. The students were all covered in fake blood.

 

EMTs tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Fortier as firefighters used a hydraulic extrication device to access Seavey in the car. Officer Brinkman performed a sobriety check on Mann and "arrested him" for DWI and eventually for negligent homicide. Members of Edgerly Funeral Home placed Fortier in a body bag and brought her from the scene.

"The students' faces seemed sincere," said Seaward. "I saw tears and people covering their mouths."

As the mock accident played out, freshmen and sophomores were listening to speakers in the auditorium. Ginger Blanchard, of Hopkinton, spoke to the students about her daughter, Brooke, who died in a drunk-driving accident. She showed photos of her daughter's funeral and at the end brought out her daughter's prom dress, which she was never able to wear. Following the mock accident the juniors and seniors took part in the speeches as well.

Senior Joe Lanoie recalled his aunt who died in an automobile accident in the mid 1990s.

"I thought originally it was going to be some cliched project, but this was much more realistic," he said. "It made me realize what happened to her a little better."

Senior Emily Zeimets noted that the simulation made the reality of car crashes "set in."

The accident also hit home with senior Dakota Smith, who was tearing up while talking about it.

"I lost my stepbrother freshman year. He was hit by a drunk driver in a car in Alabama," she said. "I kind of had a flashback when they put her in a body bag. I thought of my brother. I pictured my brother going through this."

"Not a lot of people think it's going to happen," added senior Ashley Carroll. "But knowing some of the people acting it out, I think it really connected. It made us emotionally feel it."

The actors involved in the accident, each in the Spaulding Drama Club, noted that they had been affected by the experience. Seavey called it the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to him. The actors mentioned the surreal nature of the project, from the sound of the sirens to the emergency lights and noise of a car being ripped apart by the firefighters.

 

Desiree Young was one of the student readers before the emergency crews arrived. Later she recalled how it brought back feelings of her uncle, who had rolled his vehicle down a mountain while he was drunk. According to Young, he lost part of his brain.

Assistant Principal and Event Coordinator Ryan Kaplan noted that there was an overflow of students looking to talk to guidance counselors following the morning's events.

"Many of the students were taken aback and the crash simulation was only half of it," Kaplan said, referring to Blanchard's speech. "You could hear a pin drop in there. I didn't see one student distracted. It was very powerfully taken by students."

Kaplan admitted that he broke down as well, despite the fact that he had pre-orchestrated the event.

"It's been rough taking students out of whack," Kaplan added. "But I knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity with such an important message.

Jennie Seyer O'Connell, coalition coordinator for Bridging the Gaps said the mock crash was targeted at juniors and seniors mainly because of the prom and graduation.

Said O'Connell, "We really are just wanting kids to make healthy and safe choices with the prom."

Spaulding staff, Bridging the Gaps Coalition, Rochester fire and police departments, Frisbie emergency crews, Lambert's Auto and Truck and Edgerly Funeral Home all contributed to the event.

Spaulding's junior prom is slated for 7-11 tonight.