DUI program drives home powerful point

A black Mazda, its windows smashed out, straddled the center of Graham Street just north of Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach as emergency workers descended on it to extract two teens from the car. It wasn’t a real emergency, but the message was just as urgent.

One man clad as the Grim Reaper strode around the simulated traffic collision as the entire Marina High School student body watched from bleachers set up on each side of the street in almost complete silence. They were all there Feb. 22 for “Every 15 Minutes,” a nationwide program set up to help teens visualize the possible costs of driving under the influence.

Students watched three of their classmates removed from the mock accident scene, covered in fake blood, shattered glass and medical equipment. The mock victims — all 18 years old — Bryce Overend, Courtney Hudson and Elizabeth Wylie, were taken to either the morgue or hospital, where their parents arrived with police to identify them as they would if they had died in a real accident, police said.

Off to the side, Neal Werner, 18, played his part by staggering through various drunk-driving tests. A football player and well-liked by his classmates, Werner was chosen because he’s considered a role model, Activities Director Jeanne Ellis said.

“It will be tough for him tomorrow at the assembly,” Ellis said in reference to Friday’s activities when students are returned to their parents. The crash simulation began at 11:30 a.m. when students and teachers crossed the campus to watch scores of police and paramedics work.

Throughout the morning, a bell rang every 15 minutes to symbolize how frequently students die in DUI-related collisions. With every ring, a student was pulled from one classroom, becoming the “living dead.”

A black cloth and red rose was placed on the desk for the remainder of the day, and the student’s mock obituary, prepared by their parents, was read before the class.

“When the dings went off, it gave me the chills,” said Nick Potrykus, who played one of the so-called living dead. “It made me think this is not fake; it happens all the time.”

Each of the “living dead” would walk the halls for the remainder of the day clad in white-face makeup provided by Knott’s Berry Farm professionals.

Later that evening, all of the students involved — including the four in the simulated accident and the handful of living dead — were taken to a workshop run by police at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in south Huntington Beach. The night’s activities included a visit to the West Court Justice Center in Westminster, the Pacific View Mortuary and then back to the hotel for a workshop with Huntington Police.

The “Every 15 Minutes” program is generally held every four years to make sure each graduating class has an opportunity to experience it at least once, Ellis said.

No matter how many times some of the school’s staff is involved in the project, it resonates strongly with them.

Five years ago this March, three former Marina students were killed in a collision with a drunk driver. Chelsea Toma, 19 Jillian Baedeker, 19, and 18-year-old Nancy Le died instantly when the car they were in was broadsided at Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard.

With the number of DUI arrests more than doubling in the last five years, the need is there for these type of preventive measures, Sgt. Steve Bushhousen said Monday. In 2006, Huntington Beach Police arrested 1,435 people on suspicion of DUI-related violations. There were 11 fatal collisions in the city with 11 victims, and alcohol was involved in seven of those crashes, Bushhousen said.

The activity obviously affects the students involved in the play-acting. But what about the students in the audience? Most would be surprised who it does affect, Ellis said.

“There was a kid standing behind me, a past graduate and he said, ‘I know that kid’” referring to Werner, Ellis said. “He felt the need to come watch it again.”

“It’s the combination of the two days that has the real impact on the kids,” Ellis said. “It hits them hard.”