On Wednesday, October 15, 2013, NJIT hosted its annual Jaws of Life demonstration. Sergeant Eric DiFrancesco arrived at the scene of the accident and started explaining the situation, as well as calling for back up. He emphasized that this was no ordinary accident, but one caused by someone driving while intoxicated. He scanned the area and looked into the vehicle at the passenger, who appeared to be unconscious and stuck. He explained that this could be anyone, a son, father, mother, friend– anyone. Soon, the fire department arrived, examined the scene, and the real act began.

They start working on getting the passenger out as Sergeant Eric DiFrancesco explained the exact process. First, they bring out a fairly large team and stabilize the car. The firefighters then start by taking apart the car, doors first. After this, they make sure the passenger is out of harm’s way, then extract him or her.

After the dummy was removed, the firefighters proceeded to take apart the rest of the car and the show ended. The dummy was lucky this time, but not many are.

The NJIT Be a Hero Campaign, along with NJIT Police, Newark Fire Department, and Theta Chi, all helped to make this safe driving and alcohol awareness event happen. The Hero Campaign is a peer run organization on campus that has been advocating alcohol awareness and drunken driving prevention for the last several years, and it continues to do so today. Sergeant Eric DiFrancesco is the advisor for the program. He does a lot of work to ensure it grows and succeeds year after year. Drunk driving is like playing with fire and should not be taken lightly. People every day suffer from drunk driving and many are victims of drunk drivers, victims who made the right choice but were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hero Campaign meets every Wednesday at 3 pm in Campus Center Room 220. We are always looking for new members, so feel free to stop by.