Petersburg students witness crash response that could save lives

Students watch as EMTS try to revive one of the victims in Thursday’s mock crash. (Photo by Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)
Students watch as EMTS try to revive one of the victims in Thursday’s mock crash. (Photo by Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)

Emergency crews responded to a car wreck just behind the Petersburg community gym recently – thankfully, this one was just a drill.

Local middle and high school students watched as fellow students played the part of accident victims while educators and police tried to drive home a message about the horrible consequences of distracted or drunk driving.

Students in grades eight through 12 watched as a police car, ambulance and fire engine pulled up to the scene of a head-on collision staged in the parking lot near the community pool. The vehicles were junkers moved into place by the borough’s public works and sanitation department. Three seniors Tucker Hagerman, Adanna Kvernvik and Kylie Wallace played the part of one dead and two injured in the crash.

The demonstration involved about 15 volunteers from fire, emergency medical and search and rescue, along with the Petersburg police department. Volunteers used the jaws of life to remove the top of the car. Kyle Clayton played the role of the drunk driver and was taken away by police at the scene while the fire department’s Dave Berg narrated.

The family of the three students was held back by police officers and watched as the ambulance crew tried to revive one victim.

After, students filed into the auditorium and watched several videos, one from the Taylor White Foundation. White was killed in a drunk driving accident June 5, 2009, days after he graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School.

Petersburg police office Corey Rowley told the students that he lost four high school friends to a driving accident. “60 miles an hour through a residential area past the highway where speeds were 55 miles an hour, didn’t even stop, blew the stop sign, went to go hit the railroad tracks and hit a train head on,” Rowley said. “All four were killed. Those were my friends. So when I talk to you about zeros, I was that person that walked by the truck that didn’t say anything.”

Rowley told the students that nation-wide statistically a school the size of PHS would have a driving fatality. He challenged the students to beat those statistics.

“Hey, I get it. I’ve seen the pallets in the back of the truck going out the road. I know you guys know where that border is where we don’t patrol. I’ve talked to you before when you have the pallets in the truck. … Be that hero that puts your foot down and says hey, no way, I’m not gonna drink and drive.”

Principal Rick Dormer and counselor Rachel Etcher encouraged students to talk with someone about the mock crash. Sophomore Joey Giesbrecht described the morning like this:

“Traumatizing in a good way because it definitely did I hope it at least did show some other students around here that it is important and you know you shouldn’t drink and drive. It’s just something you just shouldn’t do. There’s no exception. Oh, I’m a good driver, oh I can drift, it doesn’t matter, you don’t wanna try to beat the odds.”

PHS staged a similar mock crash in 2011.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications