PHOTOS: Rude Awakening for Monmouth Regional

The Tinton Falls police, fire and EMS departments held a demonstration on the football field behind Monmouth Regional High School Thursday morning to illustrate the dangers of drunk driving. All students who signed up to attend prom on June 3 were required to observe the Rude Awakening demonstration.

Two cars were donated by Red Bank Recycling and positioned to represent one vehicle that smashed into another that ran a stop sign because the driver was intoxicated.  Five student volunteers acted as the vehicles' occupants. The "driver" of the white car, Rose Romagno, lay down on the grass simulating a victim who was thrown from the vehicle because she was not seatbelted. The others were brought by EMTs to waiting ambulances after firefighters cut them out of the cars.

The demonstration served both as a shocking warning to the students, and as practice for the first responders. Lt. Dave Scrivanic from Tinton Falls Police set up a clock on the scoreboard to record how much time passed between the "accident" and when the survivors were loaded into ambulances.

"Thirty two minutes is a good time," he said. "The faster they get to the hospital the better chance they have of living."

Monmouth Regional's vice principal Scott Larkin ended the demonstration with a stern warning to students that he will be at prom on the lookout for anyone who is intoxicated, and if he catches anyone he will pull them out and call their parents.

Learn more in the PHOTO GALLERY above.