Police AssociAtion of novA scotiA 33 Students act out crash for safe grad event PARKINDALE - It wasn’t an overcast morning in the parking lot of North Nova Education Centre, it was a dark road in the wee hours of the morning. A smashed car sat with a dead teen ejected out one of the back doors, there was a trapped passenger, and the intoxicated driver wandered around the scene. It ended with one young man in the custody of the New Glasgow Police Service, his friend dead and his girlfriend looking at months of painful rehabilitation. That’s the scenario set up to illustrate the hazards of drinking and driving for the students of NNEC as part of the Safe Grad program. It was a joint presentation of the New Glasgow Police Service and North Nova in conjunction with the New Glasgow Fire Department. Firefighter Mike Higgs was the voice of the event and did his best to impress on the students the seriousness and finality of such an event. “I can speak to them and bring this home to them, show them what it’s like.” Higgs described it as a “realistic crash experience. We call it a crash, not an accident. There’s no such thing as an accident.” Higgs told the students of the “pyramid effect” which sees one incident grow and increase as it spreads out from the source. “It’s a tragic event. The whole school and community is impacted by it.” Higgs wanted the students to put themselves in the driver’s shoes and imagine what it would be like to lie with such a burden. “Think about what it would be like hearing people say ‘That’s the kid that killed that girl.’ ” He said the emergency personnel aren’t immune to the carnage either. Higgs said he sometimes replays in his mind scenes that he’s been to over the years. “It’s very traumatic for the rescue personnel.” Another demonstration is scheduled for Monday morning at Northumberland Regional School in Alma. Originally published Saturday, June 13, 2009 - The News Left photo: Student volunteer Hamed Jafarnia is ‘taken into custody’ by New Glasgow Police Service Const. Ken MacDonald, left, and Cpl. Darryl Paris as part of a fatal crash scenario for a Safe Grad presentation and North Nova Education Centre. Jafarnia volunteered to play the part of the drunk driver, with Devon Greene acting as the passenger and Haley Westerman taking the role of the fatality. Right photo: Members of the New Glasgow Fire and Rescue Unit remove passenger Devon Greene from the wreckage. Ray Burns - The News Sgt. Kevin Scott of the New Glasgow Police Service demonstrates the proper use of a car seat, with the Child Safety Link pamphlet on the left-hand side, for restraint month in Nova Scotia. New Glasgow Police Service is providing education and enforcement throughout the month to promote the safe and correct use of restraint systems. (Harvie photo) Originally published Wednesday, February 25, 2009 The Advocate
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