By Debbie Raney
Burns Times-Herald
“Dear Mom and Dad, every fifteen minutes someone in the United States dies from an alcohol related traffic collision, and today I died. I never had the chance to tell you …”
It would be every parent’s nightmare to receive a letter that began in this manner. It was a nightmare that students at Crane Union High School created last Wednesday, during an Every 15 Minutes Program.
Beginning early on the morning of April 9, the grim reaper pulled one Crane student from their class, every 15 minutes, representing an alcohol-related death. The students “obituaries” were read to the class, explaining the circumstances of their accident, and what their contribution to the school, community and family had been up until the time of their death. The students then returned to their class as living dead, with white face paint. The victims had no interaction with the other students from the time of their accident, through the remainder of the day. Their parents were then given a phone call telling them their child was “dead.”
Then at 10:45 a.m., the death toll rose, with two more students being pronounced “dead” during a mock two-vehicle accident near the high school. As the student body stood by and watched, first responders and emergency medical technicians from the Harney District Hospital ambulance crew worked to extract two survivors from one automobile.
One victim was taken from the scene by Air Life, while the other traveled with paramedics by ambulance. The two deceased students were taken from the scene in body bags by the coroner, and the drunk teen driver was handcuffed and arrested by Harney County Sheriff’s officers. Participants in the staged accident, as well as those selected as living dead, did not return to the school, and had no contact with their classmates until the following day. They instead, were secluded away from family and friends at a retreat near the school. Air Life crew members and members of the medical field were on hand at the retreat to offer insight into what they experience when an actual vehicle accident occurs.
The sole purpose of the Every 15 Minutes program is to stress to the teens that the decision to consume alcohol can affect many more people than just the person doing the drinking. The Web site for Every 15 Minutes states, “Life’s lessons are best learned through experience. Unfortunately, when the target audience is teens, and the topic is drinking and driving, experience is not the teacher of choice.” With the mock accident and simulated injuries and deaths, the student body experienced drunk-driving first-hand. “This powerful program will challenge students to think about drinking, personal safety and the responsibility of making mature decisions when lives are involved.”
On Thursday, victims returned to school and participated in an assembly with the entire student body. The assembly included “funerals” for the deceased. The “Dear Mom and Dad” letters were read, and emergency personnel shared their feeling of having to deal with the deaths. In addition, a video of the entire accident played out on Wednesday, from the “party” to the body bags, filmed by Bill Gromi of Coos Bay, was shown to students.
Under the leadership of coordinator Ty McNabb, the Every 15 Minutes Program at Crane was the first of two that will be staged in Harney County. On April 23, the Burns High School leadership class will repeat the process at BHS. Both high schools received grants of $5,000 each from State Farm Insurance, to help defray the costs incurred. As part of the “Shift Into Safety” program, State Farm offered high schools in the Pacific Northwest the opportunity to apply for grants to fund campaigns to “change teens’ thinking, and behavior, behind the wheel, resulting in fewer crashes.” A total of 38 schools applied, with 22 successful in receiving the grants. In Oregon, there were six schools selected by State Farm — Crane, Burns, South Wasco, Thurston, Tillamook and Seaside.
Harold Gray, senior vice president for State Farm’s Pacific Northwest Zone said, “Over 20 teenagers die in car crashes every day in this country. We want to change this alarming statistic, and these Shift Into Safety grants are a good step in the right direction.” Jeanette Hueckman presented a check to Crane during Thursday’s assembly and will repeat the gesture for Burns on April 23.
Along with the volunteer efforts from Harney County’s emergency, law enforcement and fire personnel, the Every 15 Minute program at Crane received a helping hand from Ted Marshall at Burns Ford, Inc. Marshall donated one of the two vehicles used in the mock collision, a $2,100 donation. The Ford Explorer was spray-painted blue to match a vehicle actually driven by one of the “deceased” students.
At the beginning of the mock accident last week, the faces of the students watching showed emotion varying from slightly entertained, to really grossed out, to a little bored. As their classmates left the scene on stretchers, in body bags and in handcuffs, the majority of the reactions had all turned to quiet and somber — a sign that event was a success. Said one senior girl, “That really hit home.”
