'Every 15 Minutes' at San Clemente High: Mock DUI Tragedy Drives Important Message

SAN CLEMENTE, CA – By Amy R. Spurgeon-Hoffman:

More than 1,800 San Clemente High School students, faculty and parents witnessed a scene so bloody and morbid Tuesday on Avenida Pico that event organizers hope teenagers will recall the body bags, broken windshields and blood-curdling wails the next time they consider drinking, texting or street racing while driving.

“It was very graphic, very visual,” said OCFA Captain Steve Concialdi of the day’s horrific Mock DUI Crash. “The most heartbreaking thing was to watch someone’s dad show up looking for his son – who was trapped in the back seat of one of the cars. Firefighters used the jaws of life to extricate him from the vehicle.”

Luckily for teenagers who "died" on the asphalt in front of San Clemente High School, they are student actors part of the California Highway Patrol’s “Every 15 Minutes” -- a two-day program focusing on high school juniors and seniors, which challenges them to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the responsibility of making mature decisions and the impact their decisions have on family, friends, their community and many others, according to the CHP's Every 15 Minutes.

Partnering with the CHP is Orange County’s own non-profit organization FADD – Friends Against Drinking and Driving, founded by OCFA Captain Steve Concialdi in 1989. Concialdi and FADD introduced OC teenagers to the first ever Mock DUI Crash in May of 1991.

“Students were able to witness first-hand what happens when somebody is drinking and driving, texting or street racing and then cause a horrific traffic accident,” Concialdi said. “We hope the San Clemente students learn from other student’s mistakes and not drink or text and drive.”

The live reenactment was a year in the making and served as FADD’s 98th Mock DUI Crash, according to Concialdi. This was FADD’s first Mock DUI Crash of the 2017 season. OC public and private schools bring the Mock DUI Crash to their campuses in the spring when prom, spring breaks and graduation ceremonies take place.

“The conversations that take place as a result of today’s Mock DUI Crash need to happen all across America -- in both public and private schools,” said CUSD San Clemente High School Principal Chris Carter. “High school kids make all kinds of decisions. This is a decision we want them to really think about before they act. That’s the whole premise of this event – to get our students to think.”

“FADD founder Steve Concialdi is incredible,” said Carter. “He has dedicated his life to ensuring our youth make good decisions. He has this down and his team is wonderful. The energy that they bring to the Mock DUI Crash event and the way that they work with our kids is amazing. I am just so impressed.”

Students can be even more proud to know that one of their own, favorite San Clemente High School history teacher Rich Brown, had special ties to today’s event. Back in the 1990s, Brown worked as an EMT for Medix Ambulance. He spent nearly a decade volunteering for FADD. He played different roles during the Mock DUI Crashes as either the drunk driver, 911-caller or a bystander.

FADD’s 100th Mock DUI Crash takes place at Santa Margarita Catholic High School on April 24. The event marks the 26th anniversary of FADD’s first Mock DUI Crash which took place on a dirt lot behind SMCHS in 1991.

“The Mock DUI Crashes are a reenactment of an actual crash that occurred right here in Saddleback Valley in the late 1980s,” Concialdi told Mission Viejo Mayor Trish Kelley on ‘Mission Viejo Today’ in May 2014. “In this accident, there were teenagers going to a formal dance, they were drinking and they only had a few miles to go. They got into a serious accident where three people were killed, two of them were seriously injured and the drunk driver was arrested. We have recreated that scene in these Mock DUI crashes.”

“Even if we only saved one life over the years, it’s worth it,” Concialdi said in the 2014 interview.
Organizations that participated in Tuesday’s “Every 15 Minutes” program included: the CHP, OCFA, OCSD, FADD, Mission Hospital, Saddleback College Nursing Program, Trauma Intervention Program (TIP), O’Connor Mortuary, Care Ambulance and S & K Towing.

The event is designed to teach students the dangers of drinking/texting and driving. Today’s portion of the event involved a simulated car crash with an overturned vehicle and the extrication of a trapped person in a second car by firefighters using the “Jaws of Life.” There was also a simulated scene of the treatment of patients with both traumatic and fatal injuries.

Law enforcement officers also demonstrated a simulated field sobriety test.

To find out how your school can apply for a grant to bring the “Every 15 Minutes” program to your school or community, go to Every 15 Minutes.

The final photo is the slideshow is San Clemente High School history teacher Rich Brown and OCFA Captain/Friends Against Drinking and Driving Founder Steve Concialdi. For nearly 10 years, Brown volunteered for FADD during its Mock DUI Crash presentations either as the ambulance or drunk driver, 911 caller or bystander. Concialdi, through the non-profit organization FADD (www.fadd-ca.org), introduced Orange County students to the first ever Mock DUI Crash back in 1991 as part of FADD's mission to educate teens on the dangers of drinking and driving.

• ALSO SEE: 'Threatened' Teen Reported Missing in Orange County

--Spurgeon-Hoffman is a South Orange County reporter/photographer/Photos courtesy of Vince Concialdi/Friends Against Drinking and Driving