For Immediate Release

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Photos and Video: Chelmsford Police Host Mock Crash to Demonstrate Real-World Consequences of Drunk Driving

CHELMSFORD – Police Chief James Spinney reports that the Chelmsford Police Department conducted a simulation of a fatal motor vehicle crash involving a drunk driver in front of an audience of juniors and seniors at Chelmsford High School Thursday.

The event, which the Chelmsford Police Department puts on each spring, was meant to impress upon students the dangers of drinking and driving as many of them are getting behind the wheel alone for the first time and looking ahead to cotillion, prom and summer vacation.

During the event, two cars were placed together as if they had crashed. Student actors then portrayed a drunk driver, passengers and a front-seat passenger who was not wearing their seat-belt and was ejected from the vehicle and killed.

Police, firefighters and EMS were on scene to simulate the response to and investigation of the mock crash. One mock victim was declared deceased at the scene, and their friends reacted to the tragedy unfolding around them. One of the drivers was determined to be under the influence of alcohol, with several beer bottles found in the car, leading to their arrest.

Finally, a hearse came to carry away the body of the deceased victim as the students looked on.

Click here for a short video of the mock crash.

“This event is something we do every year because it carries a lesson that never loses its importance,” Chief Spinney said. “We want young drivers to recognize the very real, and often deadly consequences that come with making the decision to drink and drive.”

At the conclusion of the crash, the students returned to the school to listen to Matthew Clarke, of Arlington, share his tragic story of a night of drinking that ended in a crash that took the life of his friend, a passenger in the vehicle he was driving. Clarke was an 18-year-old senior at Arlington High School in April 2007, when the incident occurred.

The simulation was the result of a partnership of the Chelmsford Police and Fire Departments, Chelmsford Public Schools, Trinity EMS, Greater Lowell Paramedics, Dolan’s Funeral Home, and Christopher’s Towing. Maura Devaney, a CHS health teacher and  Christine Lima, a guidance counselor, organize the event every year.

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