Pre-prom Mock Crash Staged at Community HS

March 8, 2012

T-G Photos by Tracy Simmons (Photos are of a simulated scene.)

Local state and county agencies joined forces this week to create an impression on prom-bound junior and senior students at Community High School. Student actors portrayed the accident victims.

Community High School students have pledged to drive safely and responsibly, especially on prom weekend.
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Judge Charles Rich led a mock traffic court in the library before students were taken to the staged traffic accident.
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Jeff Phillips and Chris Reed assist the wrecker service with staging the cars. Both of the vehicles used were involved in traffic accidents including Community students - the white one, just a few weeks ago.
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Chris Reed, Chris Loren and Brian Bruce go over final arrangements before the students arrive.
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Mike Shockey provided wrecker services to stage the damaged cars.
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In the staged scene, three girls are passengers in the white vehicle struck by a van. Ashton Bennett played the role of a teenager thrown through the window of the car who died at the scene.
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The teen driver of the van was under the influence of prescription medicine and alcohol, which are shown on the dash.
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Cody Baxter plays the role of passenger in the van. He exits the van and calls emergency services on his cell.
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Shelby Henderson-Hahn played the role of an injured passenger.
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Lety Pena played the role of driver of the white car. Her injuries are clever stage makeup.
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Bennett played the role of accident victim well, never breaking character during the long display.
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Tony Perez played the role of the teen driver of the van. After crawling out of the wrecked vehicle, he collapsed to the ground.
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Shelby checks on her injured friends - while members of the junior and senior class watch the drama unfold.
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An emotional Shelby attacks the driver of the van, Tony Perez.
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Distraught, actress Shelby Henderson-Hahn runs from the driver who injured and killed her friends.
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Actress Lety Pena was trapped in the wreckage.
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First responder Brian Bruce arrives at the scene and begins to check the status of the victims.
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Accident victims Shelby and Cody comfort one another as help arrives.
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Pronounced 'dead' at the scene, Bennett was covered in a sheet.
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Adam McKamey enters the vehicle to check on the driver.
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McKamey uses the pneumatic Jaws of Life to open the automobile.
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Daniel Smotherman unloads a gurney to transport injured passengers.
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Mike Rodgers of the Shelbyville Police Department, and Judge Charles Rich watch as the Life Flight helicopter lands in a nearby field.
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The crew of Vanderbilt's LifeFlight donated their services to the event. The crew was called by dispatch at the beginning of the drama, and landed within minutes.
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Prom-bound students watch the drama unfold.
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Clear skies prevailed over the scene of the mock accident behind Community High School.
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Daniel Smotherman watches as Jeff Phillips, Brian Bruce and Mark Thomas prepare to remove the 'body' from the vehicle.
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Emergency personnel remove a passenger from the wreckage.
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Accident victim Ashton Bennett is laid on top of a body bag -- at the feet of her classmates who look on solemnly.
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Bedford County Fire Chief Mark Thomas zips the actress into the body bag.
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Thomas speaks quietly with the student actress, checking on her comfort as the drama unfolds.
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Bloodied with stage makeup, Ashton's role required her to act out the part of a dead teenager.
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Trooper Lt. Christina Faulkner keeps an eye on three of the accident victims.
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Emergency workers cut away the rear passenger door with the Jaws of Life.
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Trooper Chris Hannah confronts actor Tony Perez with the evidence of his crime.
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Members of the LifeFlight team begin to administer medical aid as first responders continue efforts to extricate the remaining victim.
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Trooper Hannah administers a field sobriety test on actor/driver Tony Perez.
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Trooper Chris Hannah delivers a speech to students in the school's auditorium after the mock crash.
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The effort required the combined efforts of several state and local agencies and personnel.
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Mariah Gardner embraces Bennett after the assembly. Gardner had been involved in an accident earlier this year, and was visibly moved by the experience.
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Brian Bruce removes the plastic wound used to resemble an injury to Ashton Bennett.
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The day's only real injury was to the pinky finger of Shelby Henderson-Hahn, who playfully shows off her bandage.
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The young actresses were tired, but happy to have played a role in Prom Promise. From left, Lety Pena, Ashton Barrett and Shelby Henderson-Hahn.
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Healthy and smiling, members of the Smokestack Theater troupe pose for a photo after the event. From left, Cody Baxter, Leta Pena, Ashton Barrett, Shelby Henderson-Hahn and Tony Perez.
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Students signed a banner in the hallway after the event, pledging to drive carefully and responsibly -- not only during prom -- but throughout the year.
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