http://www.ocregister.com/articles/concialdi-255407-crash-county.html
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The 2-year-old sat, slumped, trapped with her seriously injured parents in the mangled car.
Moments earlier, the family had been rear-ended by a teenage driver at an intersection in Mission Viejo.
Steve Concialdi, firefighter and paramedic, and founder of Friends Against Drinking and Driving (FADD), shows photographs from past drunk driving demonstrations, that are performed to educate kids how dangerous
DUI can be.
Steve Concialdi, a paramedic with the Orange County Fire Authority, took this in. Then, as he and others started tending to the injured, he had a thought:
I hope they make it.
As he saw the young driver – drunk – sitting on the curb, tearfully declaring how bad he felt about causing the crash, Concialdi had another thought:
I wish all teenagers could see this.
Back then, in 1989, Concialdi was a teenager, too – just 19 and a recent hire of the Orange County Fire Department, the predecessor agency of the Orange County Fire Authority. And that crash was among the first of many scenes of carnage Concialdi witnessed on the job.
But the image of the young drunk driver, his life forever changed, inspired Concialdi to develop a program that recently earned him recognition as a person making a positive difference in Orange County.
•••
His longtime crusade actually began in high school.
Concialdi had a senior project due at Mater Dei High School.
At the time, he was a Fire Explorer – a program that teaches young people about fire safety careers — and he'd taken a class in emergency medicine at Saddleback College.
So, he already had a taste for disasters, and for helping people. And, even earlier than that, he'd been interested in helping people in life-or-death situations. His favorite show as a young child was "Emergency!"
Having a father who was a reserve deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department only spurred his interest more – as did witnessing a bad car crash the summer before his final year at Mater Dei.
So, for his senior project, Concialdi contacted the California Highway Patrol and asked for photos of crash scenes.
He developed a slide show that graphically illustrated the dangers of driving recklessly or impaired. The often grisly scenes were meant to shock kids into staying sober, and he figures that the images got through to at least some of the students.
Later, during his time at Santa Ana College, where he studied fire science, the CHP and other agencies would send him material – and his slide show expanded.
But soon after he arrived at the scene of the crash with the toddler and her parents, Concialdi had another idea: expand his slide-show into a three-D exhibit. He'd create full-blown mock DUI crashes – complete with crashed cars and actors as victims and buckets of fake blood – and he'd take those scenes to high school parking lots.
Thus was born Friends Against Drinking and Driving.
•••
The paramedic squawks the grim facts over the radio:
There's been a two-car traffic collision. Two teens are in critical condition and two others have moderate injuries.
Two others at the scene are already dead.
That was a real crash, in San Juan Capistrano, in 1989.
Concialdi bases his mock DUI presentations on that deadly collision, tailoring the facts to the high school he's visiting.
He uses student actors and volunteer firefighters, law enforcement officers and other officials to pull off the realistic crash scenes. The teen drivers and victims usually wear formal attire, as they would to a winter formal or prom.
A narrator booms out details of the crash over a wireless microphone.
The presentations last about 45 minutes. They end with the "bodies" being covered by coroner investigators, and the impaired driver being hauled away in handcuffs.
"It's emotional," Concialdi says, noting that a kid playing a witness once started to hyperventilate.
"The moms who watch it usually get worked up."
Concialdi staged his first mock DUI presentation at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 1991, two years after he saw the toddler and her parents.
This April, at El Toro High School in Lake Forest, FADD staged its 70th demonstration.
•••
For his efforts in trying to save young lives by discouraging drinking and driving, Concialdi, in March, was named the first recipient of The Heart & Soul Award.
The award was created by, of all businesses, a mortuary.
Neil O'Connor, chief executive of O'Connor Mortuary in Laguna Hills, says he wanted to highlight positive individuals and experiences in the community.
"There are so many great people doing good works who are known in their own circles, but not much beyond that," O'Connor says.
"Also, the only time you usually read about the funeral home industry is when somebody does something wrong. But this award really is about spotlighting the good work being done in the community."
Concialdi will be recognized at a ceremony Tuesday night along with three other winners of the Heart & Soul Award, which is handed out monthly.
Sharon Davis, a clinical research nurse who lives in Laguna Woods, was selected in April for her contributions to oncology May's recipient was James Pribram, of Laguna Beach, honored for improving water quality and protecting endangered reefs and wildlife along Orange County's coastlines. And June's winner was San Juan Capistrano resident Larry Kramer, 70, a retired U.S. Navy submarine commander tapped for his service to the country and relentless dedication to the local community.
O'Connor invites the public to make nominations the Heart & Soul Award. Recipients receive plaques and a donation in their name to their favorite charity.
"I don't need any fame or glory," says Concialdi, 39, a married father of three who lives in Trabuco Canyon.
"I am more appreciative of all of the agencies that are helping us put on these demonstrations."
•••
The 2-year-old survived. So did her parents.
Concialdi, a captain/paramedic at the Orange County Fire Authority for the last four years, has seen too many horrific scenes where young people don't make it. Drinking is often a lethal part of the equation.
"I think we've made a lot of people think," Concialdi says. "For all the effort we've put into this program, I have to believe we've saved a few lives.
"These are horrific accidents, and if we can just save one life, it's worth it.
"We're hoping these young people can learn from the mistakes of someone else."
