SOBERING EXPERIENCE SCHOOL PROGRAM DRAMATIZES AFTERMATH OF DRIVING DRUNK.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Teenagers saw the effects of drinking and driving pounded home Thursday as they watched a mock crash that ended with friends being carried off in ambulances or body bags.

Staged in front of Lancaster High School, the mock crash was the kick- off for a two-day ``Every 15 Minutes'' program, the title alluding to the frequency at which American teens die in alcohol-related crashes.

``I realized that it's not just my life that I take into my hands but others as well,'' said student Shannon Rossall, 18, who organized the event for her senior project. ``It's very powerful to see someone you know in that situation, even though you know it's not real.''

The program began with students being summoned to the street in front of campus, where they saw two cars smashed as if they had just collided. Sheriff's patrol cars, fire trucks and ambulances with lights flashing surrounded the wreckage while rescue crews went to work pulling two teenagers out and shoving a third in a body bag.

Another teen, portraying a driver, was bandaged and put in the back of a patrol car after being given a field sobriety test.

Just to make sure that the student playing the role of the drunk driver got the whole picture, he was taken to the Lancaster sheriff's station and booked into jail before being transported back to the high school.

Every 15 minutes for the rest of the day, one student was pulled out of class by a black-cloaked ``grim reaper.'' Then a sheriff's deputy, friend or relative read to the class an obituary about the teen.

The students who played roles in the mock crash or were pulled out of class were sent to stay overnight at the Marriott Inn in Palmdale. They were to write essays on what it was like to be ripped away from friends and family without warning.

The essays are scheduled to be read today at an school assembly, at which family and friends can share their feelings.

Rossall had heard about an ``Every 15 Minutes'' event at Quartz Hill High School from a friend. Soon after, a drunk driver hit a pedestrian crossing a street in Lancaster. That solidified her intention to have the program at her high school.

Fatal alcohol-related crashes involving Lancaster High School students over the past two years helped sparked the formation of a club called Students Against Drunk Driving, or SADD.

Several businesses and individuals provided contributions for the event. Those include Marriott, which offered severely discounted rates for students to stay; HomeTown Buffet; State Farm, which donated $4,500; and Costco.

Sheriff's deputies, firefighters and AMR ambulance workers donated their time.

``The fact that they did this much work for my kids is amazing,'' said teacher Jennifer Guenther, the SADD adviser. ``It really makes you feel good about your community. These guys went out of their way for these kids and it's just amazing.''

Greg Botonis, [phone]

gregory.botonis(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(color) Firefighters at a mock car crash Thursday at Lancaster High School take off the roof of a car after using the jaws of life.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer