The small, quiet town of Chunky suffered a horrible tragedy Monday night when a Halloween wagon-ride crash killed three people and injured seven others, all family members.

First responders, school staff and students and the community in general are taking steps to guard their health.

For some Newton County first responders, it was the first accident of this nature they had witnessed, and the first in their own community, which made it twice as bad, Newton County Emergency Management Director John Williamson said.

“It wasn’t like it was a family outside of the community – that family was right there inside of the community,” Williamson said. “It’s just a close knit community and when something like that happens you think it could never happen here.”

Critical Incident Stress meetings are encouraged for first responders when a tragedy occurs, Williamson said. 

“It gives them a chance to talk about the feelings they have had and get it out in the open, because if left alone it will build up and create problems that are very serious,” Williamson said. “I have suffered from critical incident stress issues in the past because I didn’t get it out and talk to people.”

If left unattended, Williamson says those issues can create numerous problems – marital issues, social and behavior issues, work place issues and even alcoholism. 

“Not only the mental side of it, but if not tended to, it can cause physical health issues, secondary to the mental side of it,” Williamson said. “You may have an increase in drinking, or go from smoking one to two packs of cigarettes a day, trying to cope with the issues that creates physical issues on its own.”

Being tough is sometimes a facade, Williamson said.

“In the first responder world we always think we have to be the tough guy,” Williamson said. “The one that no one ever sees shed a tear or have any problems, but that is not the case. We have to be strong and calm on the scene while we are handling the situation, but afterwards you need to talk with someone about it, and not hold all that stuff inside.”

“I reference it to a car that breaks down,” Williamson said. “A car helps you get to work, getting you from point A to point B, but if you leave that old oil in it, it’s going to break down. You have to get that old oil out of there and get the new in so the car can keep helping you get to work.

“As first responders if we don’t get that old out of us and talk about it eventually we are going to break down – physically or mentally – whichever one it is, you are going to break down from it.”

At Newton County Elementary School in Decatur, where one of the crash victims was a student, school officials are keeping an eye on the well-being of their students.

Counselors resourced by the district and Weems Community Mental Health were on campus Tuesday to meet the needs of students and staff. District officials said those resources will be available to the school for as long as necessary.

“We appreciate your thoughts and prayers, as we deal with this tragedy in our community,” Jason Roberson, NCES principal, said in a statement.

Churches in the Chunky community are uniting for a prayer service at 6:45 Wednesday night at Chunky Baptist Church to pray for the victims and their families of the crash.