Police, Lights, Sirens, Descend On SWR Area High School This Week For The 'Every 15 Minutes' Program

MURRIETA, CA — Multiple agencies will conduct this year's Every Fifteen Minutes program on Thursday at the Murrieta Valley High School.

At 11 a.m., the Murrieta Police Department, in conjunction with several other City and Riverside County Emergency Response Agencies, will be hosting the program that reenacts a fatal DUI traffic collision on the grounds of the high school.

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"The entire sophomore, junior, and senior class students will view the mock traffic collision in what coordinator, School Resource Officer Carla Sanchez of the Murrieta Police Department, calls "an emotionally charged program."

After students gather, red lights and sirens will sound at 11:05 a.m.

"There will also be a helicopter from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department landing on school grounds shortly before 11:30 a.m. to airlift one of the 'critically injured' student actors to a trauma center," the release stated. "This entire event is a mock traffic collision scene. There is no actual emergency and no students, faculty, or staff at the high school are injured or are in any danger during the staged program."

On Friday, at 11 a.m., the Every Fifteen Minutes program concludes with a mock “funeral” assembly witnessed by the sophomore, junior, and senior student body.

The reenactment is designed to dramatically instill teenagers with the potentially dangerous consequences of drinking alcohol and using drugs, according to Sanchez. "This powerful program challenges students to think about drinking and drugs, safe operation of their automobiles, personal safety, and the responsibility of making mature decisions."

The department and schools across Southwest Riverside County have taken part in this program since it began in the 1990s, many of them now parenting teens, witnessing the event.

Last year, a Murrieta resident vividly recalled their "Every 15 Minutes" lesson, and several chimed in on the police department's social media page.

"I still remember when our school did this program back in 2000 at Chaparral (in Temecula). They had a dozen or so students walking the halls for a couple of days with their faces painted black and white to represent they had died in a DUI-related accident, and they weren't allowed to talk to anyone throughout the day," they wrote. "I still remember trying. We'd forget and try to talk with them during break and/or lunch, and they'd just stand there, not responding, looking sullen. Then, at the end of the week, they did this scene on campus. It was the most impactful experience. I wish they still went full out, but I suppose just the scene on campus could be as impactful."

Others mentioned that if the event saves even one life, it's worth it. Do you remember yours?