By Dustin Thompson

In November, members of the Visalia Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Office of Traffic and Safety, American Ambulance of Visalia and other local businesses got together with Central Valley Christian High School (CVC) and put together a sobering experience known as, Every 15 Minutes.

Every 15 minutes a person dies in a drunk driving collision in the United States.

The “Every 15 Minutes” program showed students first hand the personal tragedy of drunk driving—for the injured and killed, for the families and friends, and even for the driver.

As the program started, a Grim Reaper called pre-selected students out of class every 15 minutes. A police officer immediately read the class an obituary written by the “dead” student’s parents, explaining the circumstances of the student’s death and her contributions to the school and community. Minutes later the “living dead,” complete with white make-up and an Every 15 Minutes T-shirt, planted their own headstones on campus for other students to see. From that point, the “living dead” students would not interact with any other students. As this occurred, other police officers made mock death notifications to the parents of the “living dead” children. Even though this is pre-authorized and planned, some of the parents were struck hard upon hearing the mock death notification. They were stuck by the knowledge that one day their child could be killed by a drunk driver.

Twenty students “died” as part of the program. At lunch, there was a staged car accident in front of the school. Members from the Visalia Fire Department, American Ambulance, Visalia Police Department, and later, the Tulare County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene. CVC students watched as paramedics tended to their classmates. The students watched silently as the “Jaws of Life” were used to extricate one student from a badly wrecked vehicle.

Collision with Death

The Grim Reaper danced around the collision and found his victim. Students watched as the coroner removed a student from the vehicle, placed her in a body bag and loaded her into a hearse.

Students watched and listened as Visalia Police Department’s DUI specialty officer, Jason Logas performed field sobriety tests (FSTs) on the “drunk” student. After the FSTs, the “drunk driver” was arrested and booked at juvenile hall. The role player students continued their experience as they went to the actual morgue, the hospital’s emergency room, and juvenile hall for booking and placement in a cell. These experiences were all video taped for a presentation to the CVC student body the following day.

At the end of the first day, the students in the staged accident and the “living dead” went to a local hotel for an overnight retreat, simulating the separation from friends and family. A support staff of counselors and teachers were present with the students throughout the retreat. At the retreat, the students talked to counselors about team-building strategies and the role they play in changing teenage drinking and driving, such as how they can change the “norm” when it comes to drinking and driving.

The following morning, the packed CVC chapel fell silent as an officer walked the arrested student, dressed in his jail jumpsuit, down the aisle. Next, the pallbearers pushed the coffin with their “dead” friend and classmate to the front of the worship hall to begin a mock funeral service. Each of the nineteen “living dead” placed a red rose on top of the coffin and took a seat on the stage.

One of the “living dead” students got up and read a letter he wrote the night before at his retreat. “We all have temptations in life, and it’s how you react to those temptations that could save you.”

After the funeral, students watched the car accident unfold in the video presentation. Students watched the “drunk driver” having a few drinks and talking with a friend at a park. The stubborn student told his friend that he was OK to drive and would not let the friend have his keys. Minutes later, you see the crash occur and the Grim Reaper arrive.

Justice in Court

The Honorable Lloyd Hicks presided over a mock trial, where the “drunk driver” admitted his guilt and was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter with alcohol involved. The parents of the deceased student addressed the court and talked about what the death of their daughter did to the family. They asked the court to consider the harshest punishment for the “drunk driver.” The parents of the injured student and the parents of the “drunk driver” also spoke. The “drunk driver” received the maximum penalty of ten years in state prison.

Guest speaker Lynn Goodwin then shared her emotional story. Goodwin was at work in the Friday Night Live office for the Tulare County Office of Education when an officer interrupted her meeting to give her life-changing news: Her child had been in a bad accident and she need to get the trauma center as quickly as possible.

After a wait of several hours Goodwin, her husband, and three other children learned that Goodwin’s daughter, Casey, had broken every bone in her body except her right hand and that every organ in her body, other than her heart, was severely damaged. Casey fought as long as her body could, but too soon she passed away. A 20-year-old college student and strong advocate of drinking and driving prevention, Casey was killed by a drunk driver while on her way home to surprise her mom for her birthday.

Heartening Results

Statistics show that the program is a success. Some of the students stated they are less likely to drive when they had drunk three or four alcoholic drinks, less likely to be a passenger with a driver who had been drinking, they are more likely to watch how much their friends drink, more likely to prevent their friends from driving, and more likely to call their parents to ask for a ride.

CVC Guidance Counselor Susan Thornton reflected that, though it was an intense two days, it was less intense than having to go through the real thing. Thornton said she wants kids to think twice before participating in any risky behavior.

CVC teacher Katie Talsma wrote for the school newsletter that the CVC High School staff hopes and prays that the lessons of “Every 15 Minutes” remain a compelling reminder that, for some victims of drunk driving, it’s not a simulation, it’s reality. There are friends and loved ones who never come back to school and life never goes “back to normal.”

Programs like “Every 15 Minutes” aim to save the life of not only teenagers, but the family, friends, and acquaintances that are touched.

DVDs of CVC’s, “Every 15 Minutes” program will be available for purchase. CVC asks for donations and all proceeds will benefit their Sober Grad.