A mock two-vehicle collision was staged May 1 in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was the first stage of an event set up annually by a team under the P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth) program.
The goal of the event is to impress upon youth the dangers of driving while impaired.
Students were also taken to the hospital to see how injuries arising from such accidents are dealt with as well as to the Heartland Funeral Home and funeral chapel to learn what happens there with the deceased.
In the hospital, Dr. Clarence Graff, who is now retired, played the role of attending physician, examining an accident "victim."
They also participated in a "disability lunch" where they learned how to eat certain foods while "disabled" in various ways.
Erin Smith of Bowden Grandview School was one of scores of students who came to see emergency crews respond to the simulated crash.
The scenario consisted of a two-vehicle collision caused by an impaired driver.
One youth lay on the hood of one vehicle, A power pole lay across another vehicle in which at least one person was trapped.
Students from École Olds High School and Bowden Grandview School sat on bleachers set up in a semi-circle around the scene. Cold weather, accentuated by a bitter north wind, made the scene even more sombre.
After a FortisAlberta employee made sure the power on the power pole was inactive, EMS personnel examined the victims, determining that one was "dead." Firefighters worked to extricate victims. Police investigated the crash and arrested the "impaired driver."
Representatives of the various emergency services explained what they were doing and provided commentary.
"We have no idea what's going on with this collision; what caused it. Was this driver texting and driving? Was he not paying attention, talking to a buddy? Or was he high or drunk? What's going on here, right," said Olds RCMP Const. Brian Eagle.
"Basically in a time sensitive situation like this with this many patients, we're looking for who we can save right now in this moment," said EMS advance paramedic Brian Campbell. "So he went to obviously to this gentleman on the hood of the vehicle. No pulse, not breathing. He gets a black tag -- that's all that he gets."
Fire Chief Justin Andrew echoed that point.
"The reality is that at the end of the day when we're doing this stuff, we prioritize who we can help with the greatest effect," he said.
Andrew highlighted the danger of the job for first responders.
"On a highway accident, one of the most dangerous things that we have to encounter or deal with is the other traffic. So Highway 2 or QE II is a very dangerous area for us all to operate," he said.
"There's a high number of incidents where police officers, EMS and/or fire trucks are actually struck by other vehicles and so one of the priority factors for us is to set up traffic controls.
"And then the other piece is to make sure there are no dangers to EMS personnel as far as broken glass or leaking fluids or the potential for fire.
"Unlike in the movies, vehicles don't typically explode from leaking fuel, but they can catch fire and it certainly is a real hazard, so that's why whenever we go to a car accident we send a pumper truck along with us, which we have today," he added.
Finally it came time for funeral home employees to remove the body from the scene.
"Typically again, this could happen over a period of hours, by the time all the necessary investigation has concluded," Andrew said.
"We obviously try to treat it with as much dignity as we can, but the reality is that if somebody has been ejected or partially (ejected) from a vehicle, once they're deceased, we literally have to do what we have to do to get them out.
"So sometimes it's not a pretty process. But the image that you are left with is the fact that there is a body that was once alive a short period of time ago and all that's left is somebody laying on the ground in front of us."
During the mock accident, a screaming "mom" rushed into the accident scene, was restrained and taken away.
"We're in small-town, rural Alberta where word travels quick," Const Eagle said.
"If this collision was right in town, it is very possible that a mom or a dad or a family member comes across a collision scene, recognizes the car and loses their mind, just like that and we have to take our attention off of this collision scene to that mom or dad or whoever it is."
Bowden Grandview School student Erin Smith said the mock crash was "actually kind of scary."
"When I first found out we were doing this I was, like, oh, whatever. Like, I thought it was important, but then after we actually got here and saw everything it was kind of scary.
"I would never drive under the influence or be in a car with anybody (who was under the influence of alcohol or drugs). But even if you don't drive or you're not in the car with the person driving, you could still be somebody who was completely fine, but then the drunk driver hits you, which is scary to think," she added.
Branden Goucher of École Olds High School said the presentation was "very cool."
When asked if the presentation would make any difference as to whether he would agree to drive in a vehicle after partying, he said, "I feel like saying it would make a little bit of a difference to be honest.
"If I was drinking and I got into a car, I mean, as long as the driver's not drunk I'd still get into the car, because then I'd arrive safe because he's not drunk."
In an email, Lana Cissell, who helped organize the event and has done so for years, said the whole event went well.
"I think it was a great year, highly successful and the kids seemed to have been impacted by everything they saw and did that day," she wrote.
