Local children got to witness a live demonstration of a car accident investigation at Wednesday's CSI camp at the Commonwealth Connections Academy in Andreas.

The camp, which began Monday and ends on Saturday, was set up by the West Penn Police Department to teach kids from third to eighth grade about law enforcement field work. Michele Bittner, the fifth-grade teacher at West Penn Elementary School running the camp, says that the program lets kids learn close-up."It gives students firsthand experience in crime scene investigation and what police officers do," Bittner said.This is the second year that the camp is in operation, but the first year that it is being held at the CCA. West Penn Police Sgt. Jason Lorah said the camp was held at the West Penn police station last year, but was not optimal."The station was all right, but with people constantly coming and going, it was cluttered. It was like heyday when we were told that we could use the CCA building. There's a lot of land here we can work with and let the kids have fun," Lorah said.West Penn Chief of Police Brian Johnson talked to the students about why accident investigations are important and how to conduct them."Our job is not to find fault. Our job is to investigate the accident as we see it," Johnson said.The students were then taken outside and given a demonstration of how emergency responders handle a car accident. The demonstration featured a demolished car donated by Soley's Garage in New Ringgold and West Penn Fire Company member Megan Johnson playing the victim. Participating were two fire engines from West Penn Fire Company, an ambulance from Penn Mahoning, and the MedEvac 7 helicopter from Pottsville.After the demonstration, the kids were able to get pictures in the helicopter."Some pilots don't want anyone touching their helicopter, but I like to let them climb in and get pictures. The kids will remember this all their lives," MedEvac pilot Gary Shulenberger said.Today's camp will involve a demonstration from the West Penn Police Department K-9 Unit.