CUBA CITY, Wis. – Area emergency personnel came together on Sept. 14 to give Cuba City High School students the experience of what happens during a fatal accident. A mock accident drill was held at the intersection of Jean Street and Harding Place. Eight Cuba City High School Student Council members served as the “victims” in the three-vehicle crash.
The cause of the “accident” was inattentive driving by one person. Three of the eight students “died” in the crash.
Numerous emergency personnel were involved, including the Cuba City Fire Department, Cuba City Police Department, Hazel Green EMS, Dickeyville EMS, Southwest Health EMS, and AirCare from the University of Iowa Hospital.
In addition, representatives from the Haudenshield Funeral Home and the Casey McNett Funeral Home, participated in the event. Grant County Coroner, Phyllis Fuerstenberg, was on the scene, as well. Stephanie Moore, a dispatcher with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, served as narrator for the event.
Following the event, all the students were able to speak with the emergency personnel and get a close-up look at the damage.
“I hope that the impact of this scenario shows the kids the importance of not texting and driving, and just being responsible young adults and doing the right thing,” said Terry Terpstra, Cuba City police chief.
Terpstra has been in law enforcement for 27 years and says he has seen “way too much” of this type of accident. “In fact, with technology there’s more distractions, so it’s become even worse,” he said.
Mark Patterson, Cuba City fire chief, was pleased with the outcome. “The group that we have here and are part of it every other year are great to work with,” he said. “I think overall it went well, between the fire, police and EMS.”
Throughout the exercise, Patterson advised the “victims” to scream at certain times, to make the scene authentic and to grab the audience’s attention. “The victims did great,” he said.
“I thought it was pretty dramatic,” said Ayla Nolan, one of the “victims.” “It was something that really impacted us and I hope impacted our classmates.”
