By Sara Seibel
Life lessons are often learned through experience. On Nov. 17, upperclassmen endured a first-hand account of the deadly consequences of substance-abuse accidents through the Every 15 Minutes program.
During first and second periods, the Grim Reaper removed 30 juniors and seniors from their classes to represent an alcohol or drug abuse death every 15 minutes. An administrator then read their obituaries and hung them at the front of the class.
Juniors and seniors witnessed a simulated accident involving four students during third hour. In the car that caused the accident were seniors, Constance Hannah and Anthony Carro. In the other, were Dylan Catherine Underwood, senior, and Garrett Loveland, junior. The Grim Reaper and the “walking dead” (those students pulled from class but not in the accident simulation) watched from the curb.
The accident began with the Henderson police force driving up to the scene. One car was flipped upside down, with Underwood half-in and half-out of the front window on the passenger’s side, and Loveland stomach-down on the pavement. The other car was badly dented with Hannah in the driver’s seat and Carro in the front passenger’s seat. The only responsive person in the simulation was Hannah.
“My first reaction to the scene was startled. Their blood and makeup made it seem very real,” Hun Vo, junior, said.
The officer first checked the victims’ pulses, and Loveland was pronounced “dead” at the scene. The policeman also found prescription drugs and beer cans in Hannah’s car.
When the firefighters arrived, they conducted an overall assessment to determine the extent of each of their injuries.
“There are obvious injuries and severe fatalities,” one officer commented through the speakers.
Then they used the “jaws of life” to pry open Hannah’s door and roof, which took nearly 10 minutes. Once out of the vehicle, Carro could faintly respond to questions asking his name and what year it was before being put into the ambulance.
Following this, Underwood was put on a stretcher and flown out by helicopter to UMC Medical Center, where she “died” en route.
“I was really focused on everything that was happening. When the helicopter came, my heart started racing, and that’s when I knew this was very serious,” Sohail Qureshi, junior, said.
After questioning Hannah and placing a neck brace on her, the police removed her from the car and conducted a DUI test on the scene. Hannah told him she had a little bit of beer and that she had been smoking marijuana a few hours earlier. He administered the horizontal gaze, lock-and-turn, and the one leg standing tests. She was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol and causing substantial bodily harm.
“Watching this made me feel an even stronger need for responsibility when driving, like following the speed limit and paying attention to the road,” Isabelle Bizzarro, senior, said.
Later, an investigator from the CSI arrived and began taking photographs of the collision and Loveland for evidence to use during the court trial of Hannah. She asked the police if they had the students’ IDs, what school they attended, and who died, but they could give her no answer. Loveland’s “dead” body was then moved and examined, where the investigator claimed he had lacerations and abrasions all over his body, and his left leg was broken. He was put in a body bag, and his mother — shaking, with hands covering her mouth — came to the scene to identify his body. As the coroner drove his body away and the crowd saw his mother’s grief-stricken face, the only sound was the wind in the air.
“This really made me think about the people I care about and how upset and angry I would be if something like this were to happen to them,” Avery Hickam, senior, said.
After the conclusion of the simulation, Mrs. Diffley, counselor, stood on a podium facing everyone, and began reading Underwood’s and Loveland’s obituaries while trying to hold back her tears. Students then glumly made their way to fourth period.
Throughout the day, students passed by a mock cemetery in the courtyard containing the gravestones of the 30 students. Obituaries were also taped outside the administrative offices for students to read.
An assembly for juniors and seniors was held on Friday, Nov. 18 to conclude the second part of the Every 15 Minutes program, while a separate assembly after Thanksgiving break, will take place for the freshmen and sophomores. A video played summarizing the simulation and showing Hannah’s court trial where she was sentenced to three $5000 fines and a total of 60 years in prison. Destiny Farley, a senior who was taken by the Grim Reaper, read an emotional letter to her family, and one parent shared a message written for her daughter. The audience also listened to the true stories of people who have lost loved ones due to substance abuse.
“I was really impacted by the program. If anything like this were to happen to me, I would tell my family that I loved them, and that no matter what happens, I lived a wonderful life because of them. I would tell them to continue living on because I wouldn’t want them to live their lives in sorrow,” Adriane Adeva, junior, said.
