DRUNK DRIVING LESSON SERVES DOSE OF REALITY HIGH SCHOOL TO SIMULATE LOSS.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LITTLEROCK - Littlerock High School will show students the results of drinking and driving during a two-day program that begins Tuesday.

The presentation will include a program called Every 15 Minutes, as well as a simulated crash in which students are told that two of their classmates have been seriously injured and another killed as the result of drunk driving.

``I just hope it's successful in promoting awareness, and if it upsets them a little that's OK,'' said Antelope Valley Union High School District spokeswoman Linda Solicich. ``If it shows them that drinking and driving isn't cool then we've been successful.''

Under the Every 15 Minutes program, a student will be called out of class every 15 minutes throughout the day, and a simulated death announcement will be made to the rest of the class. The program is designed as a graphic example of the fact that an American teen-ager dies every 15 minutes in an alcohol-related crash.

At 1 p.m., an assembly of the juniors and seniors will be told that two of their classmates have been critically injured and another has died in a drunk-driving crash. The ``injured'' students will be transported by air or ground ambulance, with Los Angeles County fire crews, Palmdale sheriff's deputies and the California Highway Patrol on hand to perform extraction and investigation procedures to enhance the event's realism.

Coroner's officials will be removing the ``body,'' and a teen who will play the part of the drunk driver will be questioned by CHP officers before being arrested.

Deputies will then get parents involved by going to the homes of the simulated victims and notifying the parents that their child has been hurt or killed in a crash. Parents will be told ahead of time what to expect.

``Even talking to some of the staff, they've said they couldn't do it, even pretending, because it would be too upsetting,'' Solicich said.

The students pulled from class and the three involved in the simulated crash will be put up in a hotel and cut off from family and friends to enhance the feeling they have died.

That evening, there will be a dinner program as part of a debriefing session and reflective time. Guest speakers will include representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, law enforcement and the Probation Department, as well as a DUI parolee.

On Wednesday, students will be reunited with their classmates and share what it was like to have ``died'' without having a chance to say goodbye.

``I couldn't even guess what the reaction will be like,'' said Solicich. ``You couldn't gauge something like that because it will affect each differently.''

Counselors and psychologists will be on hand both days to help with students affected by the program.

``It's a wake-up call for some,'' said Palmdale sheriff's Deputy Paul Ullman. ``It's a good way to show students this is what it's like to lose a friend, and this is what it's like for them to lose you.''