WAIMEA — There is an auto accident near Waimea High School involving fatalities, the voice of KQNG on-air personality Marc Valentin said, with crisp and unwavering authority. The message was broadcast across the public address system at Waimea High School
WAIMEA — There is an auto accident near Waimea High School involving fatalities, the voice of KQNG on-air personality Marc Valentin said, with crisp and unwavering authority.
The message was broadcast across the public address system at Waimea High School yesterday morning as part of a simulated, dramatic experience for students to witness the grim realities of drunk driving.
The simulation, which included mock fatalities, didn’t end there, as today, the demonstration concludes with a school-wide assembly in the gym with funeral service for the victims.
Valentin’s message set the simulation into action, triggering a school-wide assembly as students made their way to the fenced area at the front of the administration building.
The simulation was part of the “Shattered Dreams” program, started in 2003. Moana Taa of the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, one of the program sponsors, said this year marks the fourth to be hosted on Kaua‘i, noting the first one was at Kapa‘a High School.
Since 2003, the program has also appeared at Kaua‘i High School; yesterday marked the second time to be demonstrated at Waimea High School.
After Valentin’s message was broadcast, students arrived to a simulated live scene of a mangled mess of metal involving a pickup trying to reverse out of a parking stall when it was hit by a sedan coming into the parking lot from the Waimea Foreign Church side of the lot.
Upon arrival, one of the students screamed hysterically as she checked on the condition of victims involved in the accident.
Atop the hood, a lifeless body was draped over the front fender, the windshield smashed where the victim’s head created a crater made red from the blood.
The program is intentionally graphic, intended to accurately demonstrate the consequences of drinking and driving to high school students.
“This is what can really happen in an accident,” said Kaua‘i Police Department Lt. Mark Scriber while being interviewed by TV news media. “An auto accident can have great impact, not only on the victims, but the victims’ families and even into the community.”
Judy Cano, of Waimea High School, said that Kaua‘i is lucky because when the O‘ahu school hosted the event, the volunteers at the school had to go out and raise funds for the event.
“We’re lucky because the programs on Kaua‘i are funded,” Cano said. “This is a really good program. I was out with the students and I could see how something like this really affects them.”
Students lined the school’s fence and there was none of the usual light-hearted behavior. Instead, the students were quiet as they watched the response teams tend to the injured. Silence hung over the campus as two police officers draped a white sheet over the victim draped over the car, and the silence continued while crews zipped the victim in a body bag in preparation for loading into a hearse.
Cano said the Shattered Dreams program, coordinated at Waimea High School by Gini Hori of the Peer Education Program, is a very large production involving members of the community who play major roles in the program.
“We have the police, fire, mortuary, ambulance, tow companies, the hospital, and a lot of other people,” Cano said.
Students involved in the scenario are selected through the PEP and have been in meetings for the past two months, Cano said. Their parents have also been involved in meetings, but separate from the students.
“Last night, we had a parents retreat and one of the things they did was to write letters to their students,” Cano said. “After today’s exercise, the victims, the Living Dead, and other students involved in the exercise will board a bus for a retreat where they get to write letters back to their parents.”
Cano explained that the Living Dead are students selected at random every 15 minutes and go through the school day without speaking to anyone, or giving any signs of life.
“Statistics nationally point out that one person dies from drunken driving every 15 minutes,” Cano said. “The Living Dead represent that and a student is chosen every 15 minutes until the end of the school day.”
“I have a teenage driver,” said Kaua‘i fire captain Jason Ornellas, of the Waimea Fire Station, one of the emergency personnel responding. “Every time I hear of an accident on the scanner, I want to call their cell number.”
That concern was echoed throughout the scenario as police officers could be seen giving out hugs of comfort to students who watched the entire emergency response exercise unfold just as it would in real life.
“This is very graphic,” Scribner said. “Chief Gary Smith just got back from a seminar on make-up and he used all the new things he learned there for today’s exercise. But it’s all to inform people about drunk driving.”
Cano said the success of the Shattered Dreams would not be possible without the help of the many volunteers who come forward to help young people realize the dangers of drinking and driving.
“If this saves even one life, it’s worth it,” Cano said.
