HIGH-IMPACT STUDIES : INVESTIGATORS GET TRUE `CRASH COURSE'.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer With high-speed cameras whirling whirl v. whirled, whirl·ing, whirls v.intr. 1. To revolve rapidly about a center or an axis. See Synonyms at turn. 2. and a half dozen camcorders at the ready, a 1969 Plymouth Valiant The Plymouth Valiant was an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market which was emerging in the late 1950s. smashed into two manikins perched on bicycles, representing a man and a boy out on a bike ride. At 30 mph, the crash tossed the boy dummy into the air and knocked the adult dummy aside. After the car stopped, some three dozen law-enforcement officers converged on the ``accident'' site. The crash, one of five staged that day, was part of a weeklong class at Edwards, teaching law enforcement officers techniques in investigating vehicle-vs.-pedestrian and vehicle-vs.-bicycle crashes. ``I'm doing it on my own to stay current,'' said Mike Rice, a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County sheriff's deputy and Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley traffic investigator. ``As an investigator, if you don't keep up on current procedures, you could be left behind.'' The course is taught by Jerry Eubanks and Rusty Haight, nationally recognized experts from Texas A & M University. They have taught the course for six years and have conducted classes throughout the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and in Canada and Australia. Except for five free slots for Edwards personnel, the law enforcement officers each paid $375 to attend the course, which this week attracted officers from 12 different agencies. ``This class is supposed to be one of the best in the nation,'' said Mike Nash, a Chesterfield, Va., police officer. To simulate accidents, a gallowslike structure and fishing line hold the dummies in place. Two cars, the Plymouth and a Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American mid-size car. Originally introduced by Chevrolet for the 1970 model year (as competition with the Ford Thunderbird), it has gone through six generations as of 2007. that had to be jumped-started for one test, are used for the crashes. ``We give them three days of theory, and then we have them apply the theory here,'' Haight said. The course concludes with a day of exams. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV) A car hits two dummies Thursday at Edw ards Air Force Base, where officers from 12 agencies are studying traffic crash investigation. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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