P.A.R.T.Y. program reinforces consequences of drinking and driving

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By Madeleine Leclerc

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Speak Up

Teenagers from the PTA, John Caldwell and St. Leonard high schools were given a glimpse of what could happen if they drink and drive during the annual P.A.R.T.Y. program's realistic presentation on May 22. The P.A.R.T.Y. initiative (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth) enables youth to recognize risk and make informed choices relating to activities, behaviour and personal responsibilities. Other elements are directed toward increasing knowledge, awareness, understanding, empowerment and prevention or reduction of the incidence of risk-related trauma in youth.

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As the students sat in darkness inside the Grand Falls Stadium, the scenario unfolded before them. Sounds of a party and teens stating they would go to the store to get more beer after running out were followed by the screech of tires and a car and truck colliding. Screams of the wounded and dying echoed throughout the building as police, paramedics and firemen arrived on the scene.

While police secured the scene, firemen used the Jaws of Life to extract the injured. Paramedics stepped in to determine the seriousness of the injuries. They dealt with the injured and soon left the scene to bring a seriously-injured male passenger to the hospital while the female driver was arrested by police for impaired driving. Police also found drugs among her personal possessions. Another male passenger, laying on his side on the floor in the back of the car had died of his injuries at the scene of the accident.

As he lay next to the car, students had a glimpse of his body before the local funeral home director arrived on the scene. The victim was then placed inside a body bag and taken to the hospital where a doctor confirmed his death.

Despite some snickers which could be heard from a few of the students, most of the group appeared to have been deeply affected as the scene unfolded before their eyes and as a spokesman from each of the participanting agencies explained their respective roles.

"Most often times, we are the first to arrive on an accident scene. We need to secure the scene for the arrival of the first responders, such as paramedics, firemen, etc. and to ensure that these services have been contacted. We also collect evidence so as to determine if criminal charges will be laid in the aftermath of the investigation. In this case, we found open bottles of beer in the vehicle and drugs in the driver's purse," stated Town Police Sgt. Rosaire Leclerc.

"There is another role which we play and after 25 years as a police officer, it is one of the most difficult ones... telling parents that their child has been killed in an accident caused by a drunk driver. To do that and not get choked up yourself as you are announcing that to them is very hard. As soon as they open the door and they see us, parents instinctively know that something serious has happened to their child, whether he or she has been involved in an accident or he or she has been arrested for something serious," he added.

The patient's life

"Once we arrive on the scene of an accident, we need to determine the seriousness of the injuries. We sometimes ask for assistance from the firemen, whether they are needed to help get the injured out of a mangled vehicle, such as was the case here, or if they are the first to arrive on the scene, to help the injured prior to our arrival. Many of today's firemen are trained in first aid, CPR, etc. so their help is valuable," stated Maurice Doucette, paramedic.

"The individual in the rear of the car was dead. He showed no signs of life so we tended to the other injured. The driver of the truck was not injured. The driver of the car had a small laceration on her forehead while her front seat passenger had some broken ribs as well as burns to his face and arms. We put a cervical collar on him and two intraveneous lines to keep liquids running into his body. He wanted to sleep but we needed to keep him conscious and monitor his condition," said Doucette.

"At one point, his heart stopped. He was in cardiac arrest so we used the defribillator on him and CPR. The priority is the patient's life. That's also why we did not treat any broken bones and burns. We needed to bring him to the hospital as fast as we could," he added.

A helping hand

"When we arrive on an accident scene, we set up a perimeter so we can work safely as well as the paramedics and any other first responders," stated Yvon Pelletier, firefighter with the Grand Falls Fire Department.

"In this scenario, we used a thermal imaging camera to determine the number of occupants in the vehicle. The body heat tells us if someone had been in the car and if that person was ejected from the vehicle, the body heat on the seat would tell us that someone was missing. We would then do a search of the scene in an effort to find that individual," Pelletier added.

"In this case, we needed to use the Jaws of Life to open the passenger-side door in order to take out the injured. While paramedics determined his injuries, we worked to open the door and remove the windshield and then the car's roof to enable us to remove the injured and the victim," Pelletier said.

There are options

"Once the coroner has visited the location, he calls us to bring the body to the hospital where a doctor confirms the death," stated Patrick Kavanaugh, funeral home director. "The driver of the car who caused this accident by drinking and driving will eventually face a judge. I have to face the grieving parents when they visit me to make funeral arrangements for their child and support them through the grieving process."

"If you are at a party and there is drinking involved, rather than attempt to drive home yourself, just call a taxi or your parents to come and pick you up. These are your options. I doubt that any parent would refuse to pick up their child rather than have him or her drive home drunk," Kavanaugh added. "It would prevent a scenario such as the one you have just been witnesses to."

"Usually when the victim is placed inside the body bag, it is zipped the whole way up. In this case, since the ‘victim' was only an actor and he needed to breathe, we only zipped it up part of the way. The coroner will then take over and do his own investigation to determine the cause of death, with the help of the attending physician. Sometimes an autopsy is ordered and the pathologist is called in. Whenever a driver is killed in an accident, an autopsy is always performed," he said.

"There is no one here who would like to meet the parents of a child you have just killed," Kavanaugh told the students.

Legal consequences

Sgt. Leclerc then went on to explain the legal ramifications of driving under the influence and the possible charges which a prosecutor could decide should be laid against the driver, such as impaired driving as well as impaired driving causing serious injuries or even death.

"The driver could also face civil action from the parents of the teen who was killed," he added. "The driver's parents could end up losing their home and monetary funds which they were putting away towards their retirement, their children's post-secondary education, etc. They could also end up paying for the injured teen's medical care, etc. It is a very serious matter to drink and drive," he said. "In some cases, there have been suicides because people can't take the emotional and financial strain stemming from the circumstances."

"All that we ask is that you consider the consequences of drinking and driving," Sgt. Leclerc said. "The scenario presented to you today occurs in real life and the consequences are deadly serious."