NIU and DeKalb Police Departments provided students with an all-too-realistic reminder of why drinking and driving is a poor decision Thursday evening in front of the Convocation Center.

NIU staged its annual mock DUI, which is a homecoming tradition that dates back to 2003. Three cars were positioned as if they had been in an accident, and NIU and DeKalb Police Departments, the DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department, and the Pingree Grove Fire Department were on the scene.

“The slogan is corny, but friends don’t let friends drink and drive,” said Sgt. Alan Smith of the NIU Police Department. “We want motorists to be aware of all of their surroundings.”

Smith looked out over the scene, where the victims were getting into position.

“What we have here is a car crash, and then another car that wasn’t paying attention and ended up crashing into some other people,” Smith said.

The NIU Police Department was first to arrive on the scene. Two officers quickly calmed the crowd and then turned their attention to the victims, some of whom were coated with a thick layer of fake blood.

Other police officers soon arrived, and the DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department was on the scene within nine minutes of the first officers getting there. Over 30 safety officials would eventually be on the scene. The 11 victims were played by members of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and Alpha Phi sorority.

“We’re here to teach members not to drink and drive,” said Alan Radevski, Phi Kappa Theta president. “It’s educational, and we want to reinforce [that message].”

Participants also get community service hours for being a part of the event.

Safety officials treated the demonstration as an actual crash site. The scene was blocked off with police tape and the driver who “caused” the accident was given a field sobriety test after an officer smelled alcohol. The driver failed the test and was led away in handcuffs while his friends and other victims cried for help.

As paramedics attended to victims who had been thrown from on of the cars, firefighters attempted to get victims who remained in the cars to safety.

Firefighters stacked wooden blocks underneath an overturned car to free one victim trapped underneath. They also cut out the windshield of a Buick with an axe before using the Jaws of Life to cut the roof off, saving another victim.

Victims either walked away under their own power or were carried away in stretchers. One victim was flown away on a helicopter, which came down from Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford for the event.

Smith said it is not uncommon for different police and fire departments to coordinate when tragedy strikes.

“Emergency responders in the county work together,” he said. “We get on one accord to provide the best patient care we can to our community.”