Alexandria,MN : Mock crash hits hard for first responders on May, Wednesday 16th 2018

Saving even one life for Alexandria Police Captain Scott Kent, that's what it comes down to.

Kent spoke to sophomore students at the Alexandria Area High School on Wednesday, May 16, ahead of the annual mock car crash. With student actors as crash victims and real first responders, the mock crash serves as a way to warn against the dangers of distracted driving.


"Even if there's one of you sitting here today that makes a decision differently that will impact or save lives of your friends, your families and yourselves, we hope that will happen," he said. "We will never know how many lives we've saved by putting this on but we hope we save and continue to save lives."

The event began in the Performing Arts Center with a pre-crash video created by the student mock crash victims. The video showed six students in a car, taking a selfie while driving. As the driver went to check the photo, she lost control and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll. The video ended as one of the students called 911 and told the dispatcher there had been an accident and her friends were hurt.

After the video, students walked to the school's parking lot where the mock crash was set up. As first responders began arriving on scene, North Memorial Ambulance Manager Scott Johnson explained each entity and its role, stressing the potential reality of the situation to students.

"Some of you are sitting in the stands right now thinking this isn't going to happen to you or this doesn't happen around here," he said. "But it does happen. It has happened here, locally."

After the scenario unfolded, each of the student actors spoke about how the crash had impacted his or her life. First responders also explained how such crashes affected them.

Alexandria Fire Chief Jeff Karrow has been involved in the mock crash for about 15 years and says it always leaves an impact.

"We are a small town," he said. "Our fire department, we know a lot of these kids. We have kids in high school. ... Every time we do it, it is hard."


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Mock crash hits hard for first responders