Students at Foothill High School witnessed a powerful demonstration on the dangers of distracted driving as part of the “Every Fifteen Minutes” program. The event featured a dramatic reenactment of a car accident caused by a drunk driver, involving five students and a faculty member.
Local law enforcement, the fire department, and two helicopters participated in the simulation, treating it as a real accident. Students watched as their peers were arrested, medically assessed, and airlifted by helicopter. Some students were even pronounced dead as part of the exercise.
Cindy Diezsi, program manager and peer mentoring coordinator for Shasta County Chemical People, said, “It’s a program that hopefully resonates throughout the county that these young people will go talk about what it is they have seen today and what they will see tomorrow and talk about the impact on the impact that it had not only on them but on their peers.”
Participants in the program surrendered their phones, and one student was booked into jail to emphasize the real-life consequences of reckless actions. The event, which has been in the works since fall, will conclude with a mock funeral at a school assembly tomorrow.
