By Ed Martin, Editor
Parents wipe away tears as Friday morning trial for Every 15 Minutes.
Parents wipe away tears as Friday morning trial for Every 15 Minutes.

For more than a decade, Lemoore High School and other schools have participated in a drama entitled Every 15 Minutes, a sobering drama that plays itself out in the school grounds and auditoriums of our nation's high schools.

This year's version of Every 15 Minutes took place in Lemoore High's Tiger Stadium, observed by the school's junior and senior classes, which remained transfixed throughout the hour-long event. This year's event was organized by the school's leadership teacher, Anne Strong, a familiar face who, a few years ago, took part herself in an Every 15 Minutes event, portraying an LHS teacher who died bringing students home from a school event. 

Every 15 Minutes is a hands-on drama that simulates a drunk-driving traffic collision that brings schools, the California Highway Patrol, local public safety agencies, including agencies like the Lemoore Police Department, and others to teach valuable lessons about drinking and driving.

The "mock" incident involves a collision usually witnessed by hundreds of high school students, teachers, and others in Tiger Stadium. It is bloody (fake flood), dramatic, and sobering as a large crowd of juniors and seniors sit silently in the stands watching events unfold, including the arrival of police, ambulances, firefighters, and a helicopter.

Perhaps the most sobering part of the drama is the coroner's arrival – which signifies the presence of death – and of course, the grim reaper, dressed in black, who wanders the busy football field seeking victims.

Of course, the roles are played by students who play their parts well, whether a victim or the drunk driver. The drunk driver ended up the next day on trial before a Kings County judge, witnessed by an event center full of silent students.

Watched the Every 15 Minutes Video by Remscape

The event, presented every two years, is conducted by the California Highway Patrol and receives support from the city of Lemoore, the Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department, the Lemoore Police Department, the Kings County District Attorney's Office, the coroner's office, Whitehurst Funeral, and many other community partners and affiliates.

Of course, there is an important message attached to the event to help high school kids understand the impact of drinking and driving and its effect on friends, families, and their community. The first day is the accident in the stadium, and day two – in the school's event center – is the trial of the student charged with drunk driving.

There are usually tears and plenty of emotion as students sit transfixed by the proceedings conducted by the Kings County District Attorney and a Kings County Superior Court judge.

The drunk driver is usually convicted and paced off to the nearest jail. There are tears from family members and speeches from parents.

And it all happens as a crowd of teenagers sits transfixed at the proceedings. One could almost hear a pin drop as the sad event unfolds.

Every 15 Minutes is undoubtedly the kind of lesson we should teach in our nation's schools. 

Photos by Gary Feinstein, Feinsteinfotos

A Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department firefighter checks on a possible victim.
A Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department firefighter checks on a possible victim.
A Lemoore High School student signs a pledge not to drink.
A Lemoore High School student signs a pledge not to drink.
A victim, with a broke arm, is taken to an ambulance.
A victim, with a broke arm, is taken to an ambulance.
A victim is beneath a tarp as firefighters scramble to save other victims.
A victim is beneath a tarp as firefighters scramble to save other victims.
Victim are in pain as firefighters work to extract them from their vehicles.
Victim are in pain as firefighters work to extract them from their vehicles.
A suspect, gets a breathalyzer test from a Lemoore Police Officer.
A suspect, gets a breathalyzer test from a Lemoore Police Officer.