Students at Bear River High School were presented with the Every 15 Minutes program Thursday morning that simulates a car crash on the football field and  students witness the dire results of drinking and driving.  Students were told that 16 through 19 year-olds are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision and the numbers are even higher when alcohol is involved.  An example was given of a Stockton high school Sr. several years ago who  was a baseball player and had a bright future ahead of him until he made poor choices.
Every 15 Minutes
The Every 15 Minutes program  is focusing “on high school juniors and seniors, which challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, and many others.”

Students saw, in real time, the consequences of a vehicle collision and how emergency personnel deals with injured and dead victims. The arrest of the ‘juvenile driver’ responsible for the accident and especially the body of the ‘dead victim’ being lifted into the hearse grabbed the attention of the students sitting in the bleachers.
CHP officer Dina Hernandez says  it takes a multi-agency effort to put on the Every 15 Minutes program.

click to hear officer Hernandez

Hooper and Weaver Mortuary and the coroners office were also involved in the program.    Many students were visibly shaken when the mock accident victim was taken away in a hearse.

click to hear officer Hernandez

The “Every 15 Minutes” program  was created  in 1990 when one alcohol related traffic fatality occurred in the United States every fifteen minutes. Now the figure is closer to one every 30 minutes.