As prom and graduation season approaches, high school students across the county are being reminded that their actions can have serious consequences, especially when it comes to the choice to drink alcohol or use drugs. And at Fayetteville-Manlius High School, students were reminded to make the right decision through a dramatic drunk driving crash reenactment played out by their fellow classmates as part of the “Every 15 Minutes” program.
Every 15 Minutes is a program that teaches students about the consequences of their actions when it comes to situations involving alcohol, and aims to teach a sense of responsibility if they are put into these situations. F-M High School has worked with the Manlius Fire Department to put on the Every 15 Minutes program four times in the past six years for juniors and seniors.
“The ultimate goal is that they never make the choice to drink and drive,” said Lieutenant Chris Halliday, a member of the Manlius Fire Department who has organized the event since its first year at F-M. “We want them to know they can make that decision and if they make the right decision, they won’t put themselves into this situation.”
The Every 15 Minutes program at F-M High School began on April 21 with a “Removal of the Dead,” where 72 pre-selected students were removed from their classrooms, and then painted their faces grey, wore a black t-shirts and were not permitted to speak to their friends, families or teachers for 24 hours as a reminder of those people across the country who have lost their lives to drinking and driving-related accidents.
Later that day, six students from the living dead group were informed of their roles as crash victims and were put in gruesome make-up and brought to a scene of a two-vehicle crash for a reenactment. Senior Melissa Bucklin played the victim who was dead on arrival, senior Joey Corso was the driver who was found to be drunk, senior Ben Testani was a victim who died at the emergency room, senior Elsa Shafer was paralyzed at the scene and junior Emmet Burns and senior Veronica Thompson were injured at the scene.
“It definitely was an eye opening experience. It’s something I’ll think about every time I get into the car,” said living dead participant and junior John Cacchio after seeing the reenactment.
The whole junior and senior classes joined the reenactment, which included a realistic overview of how first responders will respond to a scene like this. Many different organizations were involved in the reenactment, as there are many different parts to responding to a serious crash incident that involves drinking and driving, said Halliday.
The following organizations were involved in the Every 15 Minutes program this year: Manlius Fire Department; Fayetteville Fire Department; Manlius Volunteer Fire Company; F-M High School administration; F-M video production staff and students; the Town of Manlius Police; Village of Manlius Court and Judge Joseph A Greenman; Onondaga County Assistant District Attorney Erica Clarke and defense attorney Joseph Gorgoni; New York State Police Aviation Unit in Rochester; Schepp Funeral Home; Upstate Medical University hospital staff and EM-STAT training facility; CAVAC ambulance; and Jim Barr and Crest Cadillac.
“We talk a lot about substance abuse and driving under the influence, and the students hear that message so often. But to experience, to see what happens, to see your classmates play those roles— even though we know it’s not real, it feels very real. Our hope is that this provides context so none of them ever have to play any of these roles in life,” said F-M High School Principal Raymond Kilmer.
After the reenactment, actors in the crash scene were brought to one of three locations to film reenactments of what occurs after a crash like the one just witnessed: to the emergency room for a mock trauma filming; to the Town of Manlius Police Department to film a booking and arrest on the charges of a DWI; and to the local funeral home for a mock consultation between the parents of the victim who was dead on arrival and a funeral director.
The remaining living dead were brought to an overnight retreat at the Craftsman Inn that night where they were not allowed to communicate with friends or family so they could experience a sense of loss similar to when someone passes away from a drunk driving incident. Halliday said the students reflect on their thoughts feelings there and some are chosen to speak at the assembly the next day.
“I really think it heightened everyone’s awareness of the dangers of what can happen if drunk driving occurs and hopefully the impact will be significant on everyone’s minds,” said junior Max Kinsella, another participant of the living dead. “It’s one thing if you hear about it, but it won’t affect you as much if it’s someone who you don’t know. But seeing people you know makes you think that someday you could be in this position.”
The program concluded with an assembly on the morning of April 22 where the general body of students were shown the films from the three locations the previous night. Keynote speaker at the assembly was Marianne Angelillo, a resident of Skaneteles who lost her son to a drinking and driving incident in 2004.
“I hope they think of the thought process and that their actions have such incredible power and impact. This doesn’t just translate to drunk driving,” said Kilmer. “I hope there’s other things the students will think about. Oftentimes they minimize how important or impactful choice can be, and this highlights that.”
