Public Safety Agencies Host Mock Car Crash for OCHS Seniors By: Orange County Communications Department
On the morning of April 28, Orange County High School (OCHS) seniors gathered around the mangled pieces of two automobiles. Inside the cars were victims of the crash, skillfully portrayed by members of the OCHS Drama Club. Thankfully, the scene was a “mock” crash, organized to help illustrate the dangers of careless driving to Orange County’s high school students. Prom was a couple of weeks away, making it the perfect time for this poignant reminder. The exercise was designed to be as real as possible, and involved the coordination of multiple partner agencies and local businesses. A&M Towing transported the vehicles and arranged the crash scene behind OCHS. Using this as their stage, members of the OCHS Drama Club donned makeup to create their “injuries” and took their places in (and on) the broken automobiles. Simulating a serious head-on collision between one vehicle carrying a group of students and another carrying a vacationing couple, some of the actors played injured victims, while others pretended to already be deceased.
Above: The Mock Crash simulated a head-on collision between two vehicles.
Below: OCHS Drama students played the roles of drivers and passengers.
Sheriff Jason Smith and Orange Volunteer Fire Company Firefighter Stewart Morris narrated as the scene unfolded. Beginning with a 911 call that was acted out and played over a loudspeaker, students heard first hand the kind of dialogue that takes place between a dispatcher and a caller during an emergency. Sheriff Smith noted that although help was on the way almost immediately, there would be a delayed arrival based on the locations of responders and the crash itself. The actual time between the call and the arrival of help was only a few minutes. However, the surreal urgency of the situation made it feel much longer, even though this particular incident was only an exercise. A Sheriff’s Office deputy was the first to arrive on scene, and he began evaluating the crash and administering first aid where possible. State Police, County of Orange Fire & EMS, and Orange Volunteer Fire Company followed promptly. With more help onsite, law enforcement shifted to their investigative role, which resulted in a field sobriety test and the apprehension of one of the drivers. Meanwhile, emergency medical responders triaged the injured victims to determine who could still be saved, and the level of support each survivor would need.
The jaws of life were used to extract some of the injured parties, who were then helped onto stretchers and taken to waiting County of Orange Fire & EMS ambulances. For the most critically-injured patient, a helicopter was called for transport to a trauma center. Students looked on as PHI Medical AirCare 6, out of Culpeper, circled the campus and landed on a nearby ballfield. Flight medics and EMS staff worked quickly to move the patient
During the exercise, State Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office performed a field sobriety test and apprehended an underage impaired driver.
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OCI May 2025
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