Mansfield Police and Fire Departments will stage a mock crash scene at Vernon Newsom Stadium on April 7 as part of “Every 15 Minutes”. The program, open to all juniors and seniors, intends to teach participating students the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol.
“It’s phenomenal. You never know how it’s going to affect people,” senior sponsor Stephanie Shackelford said. “You always have at least one person whose life is changed from it, and if that’s all then that’s enough.”
“Every 15 Minutes” consists of an alcohol related crash dramatization created by the police and fire departments. The staged crash will take place on April 7 involving 5-6 randomly picked applicants. 35 selected students from each MISD high school campus will then go on a retreat the night of May 18, in which both parents and students will be asked to write a “last chance” letter. Parents will also be asked to write an obituary about their child before Feb 23.
“It’s important to go through the whole process and it’s emotional because you get your parents involved,” theater teacher Melanie McIntyre said. “The debriefing session at the end is just as important as the crash because you need that closure.”
On May 19, an assembly will be put on at each high school for all seniors, the parents of participating students and staff members. In order to make the experience as realistic and significant as possible, Mansfield Methodist Hospital, Blessing Funeral Home, Care Flite, local law enforcement agencies, pastors and other community volunteers will contribute their services to the program.
“It takes a lot of people in order to get something like that done,” McIntyre said. “When it looks real and feels real you realize how close of a reality it can be to your family and friends. I think because it is so gory, we need that shock factor in order to really understand.”
Applications deadlines have passed and mandatory student/parent meetings take place at Willie Pigg Auditorium on Feb 16 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. and — for those unable to attend the first meeting. It is mandatory that all participating students and parents go to one of the two gatherings.
Shackelford believes the applicants will all experience the program in a different way and that the results of “Every 15 Minutes” will either be a life changing event or just another high school activity for the students.
