If anyone wondered how effective last week’s Mock Vehicle Extrication Demonstration — where emergency responders staged a two-car accident in the Manville High School parking lot — they could ask Pam Pellegrino, whose daughter, Casey Shields, had the difficult assignment of being the accident’s lone fatality.

   ”It was the most horrific thing that I have ever felt in my life,” Ms. Pellegrino said. “To see your kid laying there and know they are not waking up, it was just horrible, just horrible. I don’t want any parent to ever go through something like that.”

   The May 14 simulation, presented by the MHS Student Council and Peer Leadership Team, showed the aftermath of a staged collision between a car “driven” by student Casey Shields, with passenger Matt Kita, and a car driven by Adam Wolcott with two passengers, Rebecca Burke and Glen Hall.

   In the simulation, Adam was under the influence of alcohol and “caused” the accident. Matt was thrown through the windshield and was lying on the hood of the car, while Rebecca and Glen moaned from their injuries.

   Chris Ziobro, of Manville Fire Department No. 1, served as the announcer, explaining each step in the response for the students. He told the crowd of MHS juniors and seniors that the “first people to arrive at the scene of an accident 99 percent of the time is the Manville Police Department. All police officers are first responders, which means they can do basic first aid.”

   As firefighters and members of the Manville Rescue and First Aid Squad arrived, each group showed students how they respond to an accident by getting the “victims” out of the cars. Two were the accidents victims — Glen and Matt — were taken away in ambulances, while Rebecca was transported to the high school fields to be sent by helicopter.