Crenshaw County Students and First Responders Participate in Mock School Bus Emergency Drill
Crenshaw County students and first responders executed a mock emergency drill to be prepared for the unthinkable.
“It’s very plausible that this situation could happen and we need to be prepared for it when it does,” says Crenshaw County EMA Director, Elliott Jones.
The rescue workers place each student carefully on a stretchers and take them straight to the hospital to treat their make-believe injuries. Teachers say their are lessons for students.
“I want them to be able to see that it does take everybody in the community to respond when a disaster like this happens and then if they are a future healthcare worker and they’re presented with that disaster hopefully they will know better how to deal with it,” says Becky Cornelius.
The drill is also a test for hospital officials.
“The hospital is tested as these actors posing as patients with fake injuries are well rehearsed in what their injuries are and then it tests our staff in the hospital to make sure they can respond to those injuries,” says Crenshaw County Community Hospital ER Director Tim Hopper.
Crenshaw County officials say there have been school bus accidents in the past but none as serious as the mock accident they staged today. But they say it pays to be prepared.
“We saw some problems that we’ve got to address and this is the time to address them, not when it’s actually happening,” says Crenshaw County Police Chief Michael Johnson.
Officials say the exercise could save lives in a real accident.
One of the worst school bus accidents in Alabama happened during a 2006 school trip to Huntsville. 4 teen girls from Lee County died when the bus they were in fell off an overpass after colliding with a car driven by another Lee County student.
