‘Make memories safely’ – mock crash sends message to students

Medina, Lyndonville students urged to make responsible choices with upcoming proms, grad parties

Photos by Tom Rivers

RIDGEWAY – Medina teacher Rachel Trillizio comforts student Arabella White after seeing her friend Mady Elliott be put on a stretcher.

Medina school district coordinated a mock DWI crash simulation today at the Ridgeway fire hall parking lot. Medina invited Lyndonville students for the first time the two schools experienced the mock simulation together.

The simulation sends a message to students to be responsible with the prom and graduation parties coming up. There were 98 Medina seniors at the event today as well as 52 from Lyndonville who are juniors or seniors.

Grayson Romano of Lyndonville was a student involved in the crash. He portrayed a person who was unconscious. He was moved from the car onto a stretcher by EMTs. Grayson would be pronounced “dead” by county coroner Rocky Sidari.

Firefighters work to extricate Mady Elliott from a car. Mady, a junior at Medina, said she was hyper ventilating in the car as firefighters cut and removed pieces of the car to free her.

“It was scary,” she said afterwards. “People need to take this seriously.”

Elliott said drivers need to not be impaired when behind the wheel, and need to not be texting or looking at their phones.

Mady Elliott is led by stretcher to a Mercy Flight helicopter.

Mady Elliott is put into the helicopter which was flown by pilot Haji Shareef with nurse Gina Pennell on board. They flew from Buffalo in a  trip that took 8 minutes.

Pam Cherry, the outreach coordinator for Mercy Flight in Batavia, said the organization will do about 30 of the fly-ins in mock simulations around Western New York. Mercy Flight receives a state grant for those responses.

Medina police officer Bradon Brown and Sgt. Marty Stirk of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office lead Austin Fonda, a Lyndonville senior, to a patrol car after he failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DWI in the simulation.

Firefighters from East Shelby, Ridgeway, Medina and Shelby worked on the response today.

Kevin Bogan, right, the owner of Bogan & Tuttle Funeral Home and his assistant Norman Smolarek move Grayson Romano into the hearse. Grayson was pronounced “dead” by a county coroner as part of the simulation drill.

Members of the Probation Department shared with students some of restrictions and supervision they would likely be under if they were arrested for DWI. From left in back include probation supervisor Katie Vick, juvenile officer Adam Kuhn and Bobby Hodge, probation officer who supervises the DWI caseload.

Hodge said people convicted of DWI have to stay out of bars and parties with alcohol. Vick said the Probation Department will try to connect people to mental health and substance abuse services if needed.

Calvin Cook, a junior at Lyndonville, tries on turnout gear with some assistance from Morgan Austin, the EMS captain for the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company.

Firefighters urged the students form Lyndonville and medina to consider becoming a volunteer firefighter. Austin said she joined the Ridgeway Fire Company even though she didn’t have a family connection to the department. She said the other firefighters welcomed her.

To pass the Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations (BEFO) class, firefighters need to put on all the turnout gear in 60 seconds or less.

Kelly Kiebala, director of the Orleans County Job Development Agency and the Youth Bureau, made STOP-DWI items available to the students and also shared how there are job training programs available through Job Development, The agency also runs a summer youth employment program.

Matt Hopkins with the NYS Department of Transportation health and safety program tells students they need to be extra careful if they are driving in a work zone. They should slow down and change lanes if possible, and watch out for flaggers.

These students tried to steer pedal cars while wearing goggles that showed what is what like to have your vision affected by alcohol intoxicated or marijuana.

Diana Fulcomer, a senior prevention educator for UConnectCare, urged students to watch over each other, especially if they see others engaging in toxic drinking where their lives could be at risk from toxic alcohol poisoning. Students were urged to call for help immediately if they see someone who is vomiting from alcohol, or if they don’t respond when shouted at, if they have very slow breathing, can’t stand up, have pale/bluish skin or an irregular/slow pulse.

Melinda Rhim, supervisor at the Orleans County Mental Health Department (left), and Amber Fortunato, a care manager, discussed how stress can affect people with some turning to alcohol and substances to help with anxiety and mental health issues. Rhim and Fortunato did a true or false exercise with the students. The two mental health professionals were pleased to see the awareness from the students and how they don’t see a stigma around mental health and a willingness to get help if needed.

The NYS Department of Transportation let students climb into a plow truck and blow the horn. Students were encouraged to seek out careers with the DOT.

Medina called today’s simulation and the many presentations at the fire hall part of a “Making Memories Safely” awareness event. The district said it would like to see a bigger county-wide event perhaps at the fairgrounds with all five school districts just before the prom season.