[Fake] Crash at Abington Senior High

A fake car crash on the campus of Abington Senior High School this morning left one person “dead” and several others injured. The “driver” was then “arrested” for what appeared to be DUI.

Yep. The quotes mean it didn’t really happen. But school officials and emergency responders are hoping that the grisly, albeit simulated scene resonates with the students.

The school has been holding the simulated crash the day before the senior prom for the last 20 years.

Former Abington Police Officer Joe Conover was on the scene, which was the road that separates the gym from the football and field hockey fields. Conover, who retired two years ago, helped create the mock crash along with teacher Doug Moister. Moister is retiring this year.

“I wanted to be here,” Conover said. “We started it together 20 years ago and I wanted to help him finish it out.”

Conover said he happened to see a similar program produced by a high school in Texas while he was attending a law enforcement conference, and wanted to adapt it to Abington.

“I thought, ‘Well, if they’re doing it, why don’t we try it here?’” Conover said. “It teaches kids about the dangers of drinking and driving and drug abuse. We just want to make sure that everyone is safe — not just for prom season, but all the time. And if we keep just one kid safe, well … that’s the bottom line.” 

Abington Police officers, as well as several fire fighters and the Second Alarmers were on the scene at about 8:50 a.m. The emergency responders used tools to remove the roofs of both vehicles and removed the victims.

Conover said the cars — an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and a Lincoln Town Car — were donated by a local junkyard after they were stripped of their glass and gas tanks. 

The Abington Senior High School Friends Against Alcohol and Drugs organization sponsored the event.