Firefighters place the body of a "victim" of the mock accident as Santa Fe students look on. The mock accident, illustrating the consequences of drinking and driving, was staged in front of the Santa Fe High School in Alma on Thursday, April 26. (Photo by Zach Sims/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

It was a mock accident in front of the Santa Fe High School building in Alma on Thursday, April 26. The cars had been towed in and put in place, the "victims" were placed inside the vehicles. They were told how to act, what to say, what to do. The injuries were fake.

But the tears of participants and viewers were real. The emotion of firefighter Greg Smith was real when he fought with police officers to get to his injured daughter Ashton. One of the police officers commented later that he didn't know if he was going to be able to hold him back.

Smith's daughter Ashton said that in her role she had to keep her eyes closed while she laid on the hood of the wrecked car, despite that she could not stop the tears from coming as she heard the sounds of her friends screaming and her father fighting to get to her.

Santa Fe students portray accident victims while classmates look on during a mock accident staged by Alma area emergency personnel on Thursday, Apri 26. (Photo by Zach Sims/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

"When I saw Greg pushing the officer to the front of the car, I lost it," Alma Fire Chief Jeff Buford said. "Those weren't fake tears, they were real.

Members of the Alma, Blackburn and Waverly fire departments, the Lafayette County Sheriff's office, Alma police, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Air-evac, Lafayette County Coroner Daljeet Singh, Concordia Emergency Services and Campbell-Lewis Funeral home all helped stage the event. The accident was a graphic way to educate students on the possible consequences of drinking and driving.

After the mock accident, an assembly was held in the Santa Fe gym. Missouri State Highway Patrolman Bryan Graham walked into a full but absolutely silent gym. A number of students could not hide their emotion, as tears streamed down their faces.

"There is nothing fake about that," Graham told the students. "I've been to that accident scene hundreds of times."

Graham asked the students to stand up for what is right when it comes to drinking and driving, imploring them to make the correct decisions in their lives and to drive sensibly so that they could avoid a scene like the one witnessed minutes earlier.

Contact Zach Sims at

marshallbusiness@socket.net