Coalisland students witness hard-hitting road crash reconstruction

The event was organised by the PSNI and Mid Ulster Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) in an effort to raise awareness of road safety and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the road.

Speaking at the reconstruction scene, local PSNI Sergeant JP McCartan said: “One of the hardest parts of the job for Emergency Services personnel is breaking the news of the death or injury of a loved one to relatives and it is especially heart breaking when that news is of a young person whose whole life lay ahead of them.

“Every parent’s nightmare is to hear that knock on the door and be told that their child has been involved in a road traffic collision. Shocking though it was, this reconstruction aims to help our young people understand the life changing consequences that a road traffic collision can have for them, their friends and their families.”

PCSP Chair, Councillor Phelim Gildernew said: “We want to bring the road safety message to young people who are at the highest risk of being killed or seriously injured on the road. We believe that showing realistically just what happens in a road traffic collision will have a lasting impact on the students who attend. They will realise that they are not indestructible and must respect the roads and other users.”

He continued, “We are very grateful to all the participants who made today’s reconstruction so realistic – Sergeant JP McCartan and local PSNI officers, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, the Coalisland Order of Malta, Mullan Funeral Directors, Newell Stores for providing the use of their car park and refreshments, our two very talented local young actors, the make-up artists, the pupils of St Joseph’s College, Coalisland and Vice Principal, Mrs McStravick.”