The car crash was fake, but the learning experience was extremely real.
In the parking lot of Midlothian High School, two students lay near a mangled car with three students trapped inside. Covered in what looked like real blood and injuries, student participants played dead or hurt as their classmates watched Chesterfield County first responders work the crash scene.
“Seeing people covered by sheets next to a crashed car is a shocking image for students,” said Kendal Marker, who teaches P.E. and driver’s ed at Midlothian High. “They may never have seen an actual crash before, even though there are fatal wrecks way too often in central Virginia.”
The March 4 demonstration for more than 500 sophomores at Midlothian High was part of VCU’s Project IMPACT, which stands for Impacting Minors Perceptions and Attitudes Concerning Trauma. Without charging a fee, VCU regularly visits local high schools to help students better understand the dangers of driving while impaired or distracted.
“It is vitally important to talk to young drivers about not texting while driving and about not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” said Project IMPACT Program Manager Jerry Van Harris. “Project IMPACT brings those messages to life in a way that teens do not soon forget.”
An especially memorable part of the staged crash is firefighters cutting and prying the car apart in order to rescue people trapped inside. Another indelible memory is EMTs rushing a crash survivor on a gurney to a simulated emergency room. Students see firsthand how doctors work quickly to save the survivor’s life using surgery, medicine, monitors, tubes and other medical devices.
“It’s realistic and impactful for students,” Marker said, especially details that the ER crew shares about the emotional reactions of parents and family members when teens are killed or injured in wrecks.
After the simulated crash response, students heard from people whose lives were significantly altered by vehicle crashes:
In 2014 on an icy Midlothian Turnpike, Brad Hughes lost both legs when a pickup truck driver hit three cars then crashed into him. He now works as a Powhatan County deputy, and his passion is promoting safe driving. His mantra is that life can change quickly. Encouraging students to focus on their driving, Hughes told them that it takes just three seconds of distraction to change their life or change someone else’s life.
Tammy Guido McGee’s 16-year-old son, Conner, died in a 2019 when an unlicensed teen driver lost control of the car while speeding on a curve. Since then, she has worked through the Virginia General Assembly to improve driver’s education and to hold people accountable for letting minors drive without a license. McGee encouraged Midlothian High students to let someone know if they see or hear something troubling using this anonymous reporting website she established.
“Project IMPACT definitely made a big impression at Midlothian High,” Marker said. “Our students talked for days about what they had learned. I have no doubt that they are practicing the safe driving lessons that were emphasized that day.”
High schools throughout Chesterfield County Public Schools regularly schedule Project IMPACT demonstrations as part of driver’s education.