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Emergency vehicles were rushed to a crash site at the entrance of Amador Valley High School on Del Valle Parkway around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The crash was a staged part of the “Every 15 Minutes” anti-DUI program, which derives its name from the frequency at which a person is killed in an alcohol or drug related collision in the United States. It is designed to teach young adults about the dangers and consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
With about 200 students looking on, the lifting of a tarp revealed a car accident in front of the Amador parking lot on Del Valle Parkway. “Danielle” burst out of her car with blood on her hands and tears streaming down her face. “Nicholas” had struck her car, leaving Danielle’s passengers eerily still. Nicholas’ passenger, however, lay motionless on the hood of the car after being projected through the windshield.
With sirens blaring, Pleasanton police officers and Livermore-Pleasanton firefighters raced to the scene. The story unfolded as Nicholas revealed he’d been drinking during the lunch break–the number of beers consumed rose from one or two to seven or eight upon an officer’s repeat questioning and discovery of beer bottles in the car.
Nicholas’ passenger was pronounced dead on the scene while the two in Danielle’s car were critically injured, one needing to be airlifted via the California Highway Patrol helicopter, which hovered over the school’s parking structure.
Upon failing sobriety tests, Nicholas was handcuffed and taken away in the back of a police car.
All the while Danielle sobbed in disbelief.
Actual Amador juniors and seniors were silent as they watched, often with mouths unknowingly agape. While some had trouble seeing and a handful of students needed unrelated real medical attention for dehydration being out in the sun, most students were attentive and moved by the mock accident scene.
A film crew was on site to prepare a video for a follow-up assembly tomorrow.
This is the sixth year that the Pleasanton Police Department has joined with the Pleasanton Unified School District to present the “Every 15 Minutes” program.
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