Annual mock DUI demonstration brings emergency responders together on the Drillfield
The student-run Virginia Tech Rescue Squad joined police, fire, and regional EMS partners for its annual impaired driving crash demonstration, which included a Carilion Clinic Life-Guard helicopter landing.
For a few hours on Sunday, Aug. 30, the lower Drillfield near Davidson and Price halls looked like the scene of a serious crash. Wrecked vehicles, police cruisers, fire apparatus, and a medical helicopter drew a crowd of students and community members. It was all by design.
The Virginia Tech Rescue Squad's annual mock DUI demonstration recreates the aftermath of an impaired driving collision from the first 911 call to patient transport. Organized and carried out by the squad's student members, this year's event brought together Virginia Tech Emergency Management, the Virginia Tech Police Department, the Blacksburg Fire Department, and Carilion Clinic's Life-Guard air medical team.
Spectators watched the full response unfold in real time: officers secured the scene, firefighters cut a simulated patient free from a crumpled vehicle, rescue squad members provided emergency care, and the Life-Guard helicopter touched down on the Drillfield as part of the simulated patient transport.
The message driving it all: one choice, lasting consequences.
Rescue Squad Chief Alec DiLeonardo, a senior earning his bachelor's degree in public health, said the demonstration gives the campus community a look at what an impaired driving crash actually demands of responders and patients alike. "Impaired driving crashes are preventable, and that's what makes them so devastating," he said. "If watching this makes even one person hand over their keys, every hour of planning was worth it."
That planning takes months. Squad leaders coordinate vehicles, personnel, and timing across several agencies, a process they say mirrors the partnerships emergency responders depend on every day. Lt. Briana Howard, the squad’s training officer, oversaw the effort and emphasized the importance of preparation. "I firmly believe that in the moment, you do not rise to the occasion; you fall back on your training," she said. "Through consistent preparation and a commitment to something bigger than ourselves, we can serve the Virginia Tech community in an incredibly unique way."
Virginia Tech Chief of Police Mac Babb said the annual exercise reflects both the professionalism of the student-run rescue squad and the collaboration required during real emergencies. "I could not be prouder of these students," Babb said, noting that the rescue squad is a fully professional EMS agency run by full-time students. "Emergencies are never handled by one agency alone. Training and educating together is how we make sure that when a real call comes in, we respond as one team."
Founded in 1969, the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad is a student-operated emergency medical service agency providing care to students, faculty, staff, and visitors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Members train, educate, and serve the campus community in the spirit of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).
