May 31, 2007

A crash course in drunk driving

CHP, fire, police and ambulance personnel descend on Leland High School for ‘Every 15 Minutes’ program

By Julie Davis Berry
Executive Editor

A tragic traffic collision at Leland High School on May 23 left one student dead on arrival, two students critically injured and one student carted off to jail to deal with a possible manslaughter sentence for driving under the influence.

Leland seniors Brenna Wahl and Jamie Forno try to hold back tears during the funeral portion of the "Every 15 Minutes" program, a drunk-driving dramatization held in the gym at Leland on May 24.

Nobody came out of the crash unscathed.

Fortunately, the event was just a very realistic portrayal of what can happen in the flash of an instant when teenagers drink and drive.

The “Every 15 Minutes” program began in the early 1990s as a device by the California Highway Patrol to scare new drivers into making appropriate decisions while behind the wheel and as passengers. The program takes eight to 10 months to plan with school officials, according to Virginia Jones, the program coordinator for American Medical Response. “It’s important for the kids to be surprised by the event because we never know when we are going to die,” said Jones. “We never know when it’s coming.”

The name of the program derives from the fact that every 15 minutes, someone in the United States dies in an alcohol-related traffic collision. Jones points out that thanks to the implementation of new laws and programs like these, the death rate is now every 30 minutes.

It took a village to pull off this first-time event at Leland High School. In fact, it is the first “Every 15 Minutes” program ever put on in San Jose Unified School District. Members of the California Highway Patrol, American Medical Response, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, San Jose Police Department, Department of Corrections, Office of Traffic and Safety, San Jose Fire Department, Santa Clara County Communications, Santa Clara County Fire, Santa Clara County Office of the Coroner, Valley Medical Center all enthusiastically participated in the event. The program was coordinated on-site by Leland’s Assistant Principal of Activities Paul Yllana and Patti Young, who is the ASB bank clerk and a parent at Leland.

The body of “victim” Sara Adams lies on the hood of the car that she was riding in during the "Every 15 Minutes" program at Leland High School in San Jose on May 23. —Photos by Dan Miranda

The “tragedy” began on Wednesday, May 23 at 10 a.m. when the “Grim Reaper” visited classrooms and quietly signaled to a student in each that they were to follow him.

At 10:30 a.m., junior and senior students were released from their classrooms and led out to the football field where bleachers faced two cars covered with black plastic sheets. They sat somberly while a 911 call was broadcast from the office. There had been a bad accident at Leland High School. Sirens rang out within a minute and soon fire trucks, ambulances and police were on the scene. The black plastic was pulled off two cars to reveal a horrific crash scene with dead bodies of their fellow students on the pavement and a dazed football player stumbling over beer bottles to get out of his car.

Sara Adams lay bleeding from a head wound on the hood of a blue car. Will Baumeister climbed out of the car stumbling over beer bottles as he surveyed the wreckage. The driver of the other car, Ann Rummelhoff, and her passenger, Jessica Talaugon, sat silently in the other car, critically injured.

As the professionals went to work at the scene checking Sara for a pulse and eventually carrying her body to the grass on a stretcher to wait for the coroner and using the “jaws of life” to get to the injured, a dazed Will was pulled to the side by a police officer who asked him some pointed questions.

“Have you had any drinks tonight,” asked the officer.

“Just a few beers,” replied Will.

“How much sleep did you have last night,” asked the officer.

“I slept about five or six hours,” said Will.

“When did you eat last and what did you have,” asked the officer.

San Jose firefighters and paramedics attend to accident “victim” Annie Rummelhoff, who was the driver of the other car that was involved in a mock head-on collision.

“I had a burger about three hours ago,” answered Will with a laugh when asked if he’d supersized his meal.

The officer’s response was to administer a field sobriety test, which Will failed miserably. The officer then placed Will under arrest for driving under the influence and placed him in a squad car.

As the critically injured were loaded into ambulances, the grim reaper placed a hand on one window signaling that the injured student inside wouldn’t make it. The coroner arrived on scene and went to work wrapping Sara in heavy plastic and zipping them up before placing them in the coroner’s van to head to the morgue.

The whole presentation took a little over an hour. “We slow down the rescue for the presentation and do it in stages so the kids can really see how rescues play out. In real life, we aim to get them out and sent off to the hospital within seven minutes,” said the program coordinator from American Medical Response, Virginia Jones.

Although there were a few snickers from students in the bleachers, many of the professionals on the scene were in a somber mood. It seemed like everyone had been personally touched by a drunk driver. “I have to wear sunglasses because it affects me,” admitted one police officer. “I had a cousin who was killed by a drunk driver when he was 19.”

The memorial service
The next day, a memorial service was held in the gym for the victims and the “living dead” who participated in the program. A somber processional led by a bagpiper walked into the gym with the living dead acting as pallbearers. Parents and family members sat in one section and firefighters, police and other dignitaries sat in another. All were armed with boxes of tissues.

Pallbearers escort the casket down the aisle at the start of the mock funeral for the "Every 15 Minutes" program at Leland, a drunk-driving dramatization held in the gym at Leland on May 24. Photos by Dan Miranda

Jones shared that since the program had begun the day before, 48 people had died.

Several of the family members, friends and even the “dead” themselves got up to speak and read letters they had written at a retreat.

One girl barely got through her eulogy of her friend Annie Rummelhoff before breaking into wracking sobs. “You know everything about me. I love you so much. You were the cheer captain and you were always a leader. But most of all you had a huge heart.”

Another girl shared her regrets that because of her death her future grandchildren would never meet their youthful, energetic grandmother. “Mom, you are my world. When I think of friendship your face comes to mind. Now I am your angel and I’ll never forget you,” said another participant through tears.

Daniel Schroeder’s mother said that from the moment her son was born “everything changed. But, I realized as you got older that I could no longer protect you. What an adventurer you were. You always did everything to the best of your ability.”

Alice Kreider gave an eloquent speech to her son, Will Baumeister, who had been “charged” with DUI in the accident.

Leland seniors Sara Adams, Jesse Talaugon and Jessica Kolte wipe tears from their eyes as they listen to a letter read by Jesse’s father John during the funeral portion of the "Every 15 Minutes" program.

“I am the mother of Will, the driver who killed these people,” she began as she remembered her son as a mischievous toddler who was a bit of a wuss when it came to cats killing mice. “You will always be my gentle giant. But every moment of every day we make life-changing decisions. The other day you made a life-changing decision and as a result of your choice your life and those of others will never be the same. Know that no matter what I love you unconditionally and always will.”

A mother’s anguish
The keynote speaker was Louise Roy, a San Benito High School teacher who lost her 21- year-old son Brian Houssein-Roy on his birthday in a drunk driving accident 15 years ago. Her talk was preceded by a video of Brian’s life, which she admits she still can’t watch even after speaking at four different high school’s “Every 15 Minutes” memorial services.

Roy said that when Brian was leaving that fateful night to celebrate his 21st birthday, she reminded him to be careful not to drink and drive. He said that he and his girlfriend would be walking. Unfortunately, he chose to drive the last few blocks home on his motorcycle, ran and stoplight and was hit by a truck. She received a phone call at 2 in the morning.

“Suspected DUI driver” Will Baumeister is given a sobriety test by California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Fowles.

“I walked into the hospital and his friends were all crying and I just knew. They brought me in to see him and he was lying so still on a stretcher and he looked like he was sleeping. I prayed for Jesus to take him up to heaven,” she recalled. “Although it’s been 15 years, he’s still the first person I think of when I wake up and the last person I think of when I go to sleep.

“You might wonder why I do these presentations. It’s because I’m sick and tired of seeing young people dying. It is so important to make the right decision about drinking and driving,” she said lastly to a standing ovation.
After the memorial service, family members and fire and police professionals gathered in the library for a luncheon. There were many emotional moments as parents reunited with their “dead” children.

“Although I knew it was staged and everything it was still difficult when the cops came to our door to tell us about the accident,” said Jessica Talaugon’s father, John. “It was kind of a cathartic experience for me because my sister Tara died around Jessica’s age and we had the memorial service right here in the Leland gym 30 years ago. I never told Jess that she reminds me of my sister.”

Jessica, who played one of the gravely injured accident victims, says participating in the program as one of the living dead was an incredible experience that she’ll never forget. “It was emotionally draining and one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever been through. We really formed a tight bond with the other living dead students during this experience and I hope this will help us all make the right decisions in the future.”