Charleroi Area’s mock prom crash provides harsh lessons about dangerous decisions

Students from SADD suggested the idea and worked to make it happen.

The sound of sirens echoed across the Charleroi Area High School campus Thursday afternoon as students watched first responders rush toward two mangled vehicles during a mock prom crash demonstration meant to show the deadly consequences of impaired and distracted driving.

Washington County District attorney Jason Walsh, center, spoke to students following the mock crash on Thursday. Taylor Brown / MVI

As classmates looked on from a nearby hillside, one student was led away in handcuffs while firefighters and paramedics worked to free trapped victims, and another was ultimately placed in a body bag as part of a realistic simulation meant to teach a lesson.

The mock crash demonstration, organized by the district’s Students Against Destructive Decisions club, recreated the aftermath of a head-on collision involving students traveling to and from prom.

The scenario began with a simulated 911 call

First responders tend to a victim during Thursday’s mock prom crash at Charleroi Area High School. Wayne E. Ray / For the Mon Valley Independent

reporting a crash with possible entrapment and unknown injuries.

Within minutes, police officers, firefighters, paramedics and emergency personnel converged on the scene as students gathered on a nearby hillside to watch the response unfold.

Police arrived first, taking one student participant into custody as firefighters and EMS crews stabilized the damaged vehicles and began extracting victims.

A Life Flight helicopter also landed as part of the demonstration.

As the scene progressed, injured students were loaded into ambulances while the Washington County coroner documented the crash scene before one “deceased” student was placed into a body bag.

“It is meant to show how quickly one decision can change everything,” freshman and SADD member Sy’Monte Hall told his peers. “It is not meant to scare you, but to make you truly think about your actions. The people you will see represent friends, classmates, teammates, people just like you.”

Sophomore Jacie Lipari spearheaded the effort along with other SADD members after seeing a similar event on social media at another school district.

Lipari said fellow student Lilly Withers helped bring the idea to administrators in December, receiving support from Principal Dr. Patti Mason and SADD sponsor Eric Selva.

Selva said the event was important not only for the students who organized it, but for the entire student body watching.

“I think what these kids were able to organize today is something really important not only for them but for the rest of the student body here,” Selva said. “I don’t think a lot of kids understand the severe and potentially fatal consequences of distracted or impaired driving, even if it is a simple text. Seeing this today hopefully made that scenario more real.”

Lipari said it was important for younger students to see the demonstration as well, especially as many are just beginning to drive.

“I’m a sophomore, but kids my age are just starting to drive and I think it’s important for them to see this, too,” Lipari said. “When you’re young you can be reckless and might not be making the best choices, so it’s important to have this awareness.”

“It was really awesome to see the way it came together,” said Chris Ceccarelli, captain with Fallowfield Township Volunteer Fire Co., who worked with students to organize the event.

Ceccarelli said the demonstration closely mirrored real fatal crash responses.

“What they saw today was very accurate,” he said. “Those fatal crashes, that’s what you’ll see.”

He said emergency responders hope students understand the lasting consequences of dangerous driving decisions.

“I really hope that they seriously think about the consequences of not only drinking and driving, but distracted driving,” Ceccarelli said. “I think the most important thing is that they saw something difficult to watch and hopefully take something away from this.”

Ceccarelli also spoke about the emotional toll such calls take on first responders.

“You never get completely over it,” he said. “You take it with you all the time.”

Charlie Yakich, a Charleroi Area school board member and former first responder with the Charleroi Fire Department, said demonstrations like Thursday’s can leave a lasting impact on students.

Yakich, who also previously worked for PennDOT documenting fatal crashes, said he understands the importance of awareness both as a responder and a parent.

“Way back, I thought it was really important for my kids to see this,” Yakich said. “As a first responder, these types of calls are hard, especially when it involves young people. You don’t forget those calls. So, for me, I hope this is something they will remember and use to make smart choices.”

Representatives from Charleroi Regional Police, Rostraver EMS, Life Flight, Washington County 911 and the Washington County coroner’s office participated in the demonstration along with fire departments that cover the district, including Fallowfield, Charleroi, Lock 4 and Stockdale.

Bujanowski Towing also assisted with the demonstration by providing the vehicles used in the simulation.

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh told students that many of the first responders involved have handled similar tragedies in real life.

“All of these members that staged this today, unfortunately, have responded to calls like this too many times,” Walsh said. “What we don’t want is to see anybody, especially young people, in the situation that was acted out today.”

Walsh urged students to make responsible decisions before getting behind the wheel.

“I would like you to use your best judgment, make the right decisions and learn from what you just saw,” he said.

A Life Flight paramedic echoed that message, warning students not to assume tragedy could never happen to them.

“I promise you, I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and just when you think that it can’t, it won’t,” the paramedic said. “It can and it will if you do dumb things like drink and drive, reckless drive, don’t wear your seat belts. All this is 100% preventable.”

Many students stood silently on the hillside overlooking the parking lot as the scenario unfolded.

As a senior, Withers said she hopes seeing classmates involved in the simulation made the demonstration feel more real for students watching.

“There were our friends, classmates being taken away in handcuffs, being put in a body bag, being taken away in an ambulance,” Withers said. “I hope that really impacts them because it was their friends and peers and classmates being put into a situation that was fake, but could be real.”

Lipari said one moment stood out to her most during the event.

“What stuck with me the most was looking over and seeing most of the students on the hill actually watching and paying attention,” she said. “It seemed like they really wanted to learn something and understood the seriousness of it.”

Withers said even reaching one student would make the effort worthwhile.

“If this even sticks with one person, that is worth it for us,” she said.

Mason said the event reinforced the dangers of distracted and impaired driving at a critical time for students.

“A lot of kids don’t understand what texting and driving can do for them, let alone being in a car with a drunk driver or somebody that’s under the influence of anything,” Mason said. “It is very severe, so it’s an important lesson for our students to learn.”

She also praised students for taking the lead in organizing the demonstration.

“They learned not only how to do a good service, they learned how to plan an event,” Mason said. “They are already thinking about what we can do next year.”