Students at West Ranch High School were given a message about impaired driving Thursday as part of the California Highway Patrol’s effort to create teenage driving awareness.

The “Every 15 Minutes” program is a two-day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors which challenges them to think about drinking, driving and personal safety, according to officials.

“Twenty years ago when we started this program in the Hart district, every 15 minutes somebody was killed in an alcohol related crash,” said Tracy Moscoe, assistant principal at West Ranch High School.

And while the program offers real-life experience without the real-life risks, the event has been known to be emotionally charged, according to officials.

At the end of the day, 17 “walking dead,” six crash victims, and one impaired driver would eventually relay the Every 15 Minutes message to more than 1,200 fellow classmates.

During Thursday’s event, local agencies such as school staff, CHP, Coroner’s and fire officials, were brought together to give students a realistic look at the dangers of impaired driving.

Throughout the morning, students were called out of class by the “Grim Reaper” every 15 minutes and were considered one of the “walking dead” who roamed the campus, but could not communicate with others.

The “dead” students had an artist paint their faces to look like ghouls as a haunting reminder of DUI-related deaths.

The campus was decorated with posters, obituaries and memory books, which were laid out for students to write in and get a visual of the loss of their classmates.

There was also a graveyard in the center of the campus where tombstones represented every student who had “died” because of a car crash.

“I know that you’re 16 and 17 years old and you think that you’re invincible, but I’m telling you that these things happen and they can happen to you,” said Moscoe.

After the last student had been called out by the Grim Reaper, students walked out towards the end of Valencia Boulevard to experience a staged crash scene.

“We want you to leave here today with an awareness of what can happen, but it doesn’t have to end like this. Take it upon yourselves to look out for one another,” said Principal Mark Crawford.

During the presentation, rescue workers treated injured students after getting them out with the “jaws of life.”

Officials with the coroner’s office also handled fatalities on scene as CHP officers investigated and arrested the “drunk driver,” who would then be booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and put in a cell with an actual jumpsuit.

The “dead” victims will not be able to interact with friends or family members as they will spend the night at a hotel to further add a sense of reality in regards to the loss of a loved one.

“Today is a simulation,” said Crawford. “We know that the students and friends, and sons and daughters, involved in this accident will come home safe, but we also know that too many young people in Santa Clarita do not come home from a scene like this.”

About 4,000 teenagers die each year as a result of traffic collisions, according to CHP Officer Josh Greengard.

“A lot of people don’t realize the leading cause of teenage death is traffic collisions,” said Greengard.

With funding available from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the California Highway Patrol provides grants to schools and organizations wanting to implement the Every 15 Minutes program.  

The William S. Hart Union High School District is one of many districts that facilitates this presentation.

Every year, three schools are given the opportunity to experience the awareness program. West Ranch High School was the first school this year, leading the way for Hart High School and Golden Valley High School.

Next year, the remaining three district high schools, Canyon, Saugus and Valencia High School, will participate.

“Take the time to reflect on what you’ve seen here today,” said Crawford. “Make the right decisions.”

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