Wake-up call

MOSES LAKE — A young person was crossing the street and texting on her phone. An impaired driver swerved to miss the pedestrian, but was too late — he struck and killed her with his car. In the process of swerving, the drunk driver also struck an oncoming car, leading to two more fatalities.

It wasn’t a real situation this time, but as emergency responders processed the mock DUI crash scene and provided emergency medical care Thursday on Big Bend Community College’s campus, it sure felt real.

A large group of students crowded around Thursday afternoon — some wearing looks of shock and awe — as a parking lot outside Big Bend’s ATEC building was swarming with emergency responders who went to work processing the scene. The intensity emitted from the scene in a disturbingly real sense.

What the students were witnessing, thanks to student actors and real emergency response personnel from local agencies, was not far-fetched by any stretch of the imagination. It was as real as it could be without being real.

Students inside Big Bend’s ATEC building for the college’s 10th annual Community Partnership Against Substance Abuse event Thursday morning were prepared for the scene of the crash with a short video portraying the situational background. They then filed outside to see two vehicles crunched together and actors within them in visibly bad condition. The pedestrian was sprawled on the asphalt. They watched and listened intently as law enforcement and emergency response personnel arrived at the scene and worked quickly to assess the situation, communicate with dispatchers, provide emergency medical care and arrest a drunken driver.

“What you see here is what they actually respond to,” said Ryann Leonard, of Big Bend’s criminal justice and psychology faculty. “Sometimes the guys will actually give us an example of an actual crash they responded to.”

Leonard, an organizer of the Partnership Against Substance Abuse event, said many of the responders who participated in the activity have been doing so for all 10 years of the event’s existence. These public servants also get training credit for the activity, she said, because “we make it so real here.”

That’s no embellishment. From the 911 call to dispatch to the landing of the Life Flight helicopter on a nearby field, the appearance of a real DUI car crash scene was portrayed.

The mock DUI crash was just one of many sessions and activities provided by Big Bend and their community partners for the event. Each lecture, presentation and activity was aimed toward opening the eyes of young people toward the dangers and repercussions of substance abuse and how such tragedies can be prevented.

Leonard said the mock crash tends to leave a lasting impact for some students. Seeing a situation play out in front of their eyes can be massively influential, she said, especially for students who have not previously been confronted with such harsh realities. The issue is no longer out of sight nor out of mind for these students.

“It’s worth it if one person’s mind is changed and we definitely see that,” Leonard said. “We have them do evaluations and every year we see them say, ‘I was really impacted, I didn’t understand.’ And the presentations that they watched, they didn’t really grasp the enormity of it. It just kind of gives them some awareness as to what’s going on.”

Leonard said over the past decade, the Community Partnership Against Substance Abuse has had a sprawling effect in the community. She said from this event, others have sprouted up at local schools, bringing a more community wide effort to educate young people.

Thursday afternoon, the large group of student spectators included Big Bend students and groups from Moses Lake High School, Odessa, Columbia Basin Job Corps, and others from the community.

Leonard said having the support of the community is much appreciated because any difference that can be made in how people view drunk driving and other substance-related issues is a step in the right direction.

“It’s our little way to make sure that people know to make good choices and to think responsibly and really, that we don’t want to see any more of our local youth being impacted or lose their lives over something that can be controlled,” she said.

The day-long event at Big Bend featured presentations on other topics like the prevalence of local drug use, how drug-related crimes are investigated, and how addiction impacts families.

The following agencies and organizations contributed to the mock DUI crash and other presentations throughout the day: Agri-Fix Towing, Grant County coroner, Grant County Health District, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Grant County Fire District No. 5, American Medical Response, MLPD, Moses Lake Fire Department, Washington State Patrol, Grant County District Court, Life Flight, Central Basin Traffic Safety Task Force, Moses Lake Community Prevention Coalition, Grant County Prevention and Recovery Center, MACC Dispatch and the Washington State Patrol Drug Recognition Expert Program.

Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.