Just days before the senior prom, a live, simulated DUI car crash presentation resulted in one death and several serious injuries. The dramatic program was designed to teach students about the grave consequences of drinking alcohol and/or taking drugs, and then driving a motor vehicle.
The 12th annual “Cheat the Reaper” Teen Anti-DUI program was held on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the Miami Beach Convention Center parking lot, 1900 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida.
The award-winning program was enacted in front of approximately 1,000 high school students from Miami Beach and Miami Northwestern. The visuals had a strong emotional impact on the students. School administrators, teachers and students worked together with other community partners to produce this realistic drama complete with make-up, a gallon or so of fake blood, and 2 actual crashed vehicles.
“If experience is the best teacher, then the goal is of this program is to substitute an actual experience with a realistic educational experience. We hope that it can be used as a reference for good judgment at the moment when peer pressure may force students to make difficult choices on prom night,” stated Fire Inspector David Mogen, public education coordinator, Miami Beach Fire Department.
As part of the re-enactment, every agency that would normally be called upon to respond to this type of incident did what they normally do. The police responded and performed the accident investigation, sobriety test and arrest. Fire rescued, extricated the victims, stabilized them and transported them to the Hospital. Four funeral home attendants examined, carried and loaded the deceased into a black hearse. To create an even more dramatic impact, a mock funeral for the deceased arranged by Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels, concluded the program.
This event was made possible by the coordinated efforts of the following: Miami Beach Fire & Police departments, City of Miami Fire Rescue, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Police Department, City of Miami Beach, Miami Beach Coalition for a Drug Free Community, Miami Beach Senior High School, Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Miami Beach Senior High School PTSA, Drug Free Youth In Town, Tremont Towing, Inc., Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels, and Vista Convention Services South.
Other community partners include Department of Children and Families, J.M.H. Emergency Care Center, Communities in Schools and The Non- Violence Program.
The City of Miami Beach was proud to honor police, firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and community partners who serve the country with bravery, heroism and are most deserving of every accolade in view of their dedication in addressing the life safety needs of their communities.
