INDIANOLA – High school students from the Sunflower County Consolidated School District and North Sunflower Academy witnessed in dramatic detail the tragedies that follow impaired driving incidents as county officials conducted a “PROM Promise” exercise at North Sunflower Medical Center on Thursday.
Emergency services personnel staged a two-car crash with multiple simulated casualties and fatalities. Over 100 students watched intently as responders triaged the simulated victims, performed rescues, removed the simulated dead, and an arrest of a simulated drunk driver.
PROM Promise events, standing for “Please Return on Monday”, are conducted to raise high school students’ awareness of impaired driving risks as the Prom / Junior-Senior Banquet season begins. Ruleville Fire Chief Matt McNutt, who spearheaded this year’s exercise planning, stated, “It’s vital that these students see the reality that emergency responders regularly face. What might seem like a quick decision can lead to life-altering consequences for friends as well as strangers.”
Agencies participating in the exercise were: Ruleville Volunteer Fire Department, Drew Volunteer Fire Department, Sunflower County Rescue Co. 6, Sunflower County Fire Coordinator’s Office, Ruleville Police Department, Sunflower Police Department, Sunflower County Coroner’s Office, MedStat EMS, North Sunflower Medical Center, Bolivar County Emergency Management, Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, and University of Mississippi Medical Center’s AirCare-4 (Greenwood base).