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Accident scene teaches teens lessons in drunk driving
  
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Analy students get a first-hand taste of consequences of bad choices
by David Abbott
Sonoma West Editor
The sound of bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” haunted the Analy Gymnasium two days before Halloween.
A line of mourners dressed in black carrying roses for the relatives of the fallen passed the coffin sitting in the middle of the basketball court.
Death took up the rear, scythe firmly in hand.
The mock funeral for student Grace Emery was the centerpiece of the assembly that was the final act of Every 15 Minutes, a program designed to give students and parents “real-life experience without the real-life risks,” according to its Web site.
The first day of the program featured a staged traffic accident that took place on Morris Street, just below the Analy softball field. The “accident” involved four students, who had specific roles in the presentation. The driver of one vehicle was the drunk driver, whose passenger died at the scene, while the driver of the other vehicle was paralyzed and his passenger was taken to the hospital in a helicopter.
About 16 students played “living dead,” and their obituaries were read in classrooms every 15 minutes in the lead up to the event.
The assembly took place the following day (Oct. 29), and featured speakers and a film of the crash scene.
West Sonoma County Union High School District Superintendent Keller McDonald was the first of a line of speakers that included a funeral director, several public officials and parents of the students involved in the program.
McDonald talked about the way Emery’s life touched the entire community, and about his feelings that resulted from the experience.
“Community is the fabric that holds us all together,” he said. “And when one piece is tugged it causes a ripple effect throughout the community.”
Sebastopol Police Chief Jeff Weaver then spoke about the reason for the program, which he said was because “so many people in Sonoma County are dying from drunk driving.”
“You’re the future of the community, and we want to ensure you face the future safely,” he said. “I’ve come to know many of you and I know more and more that the future is in good hands, and we want you to reach that future.”
Then funeral director Bill Graff from Daniel’s Chapel of the Roses gave a very graphic speech about the effects of drunken driving deaths on those left behind.
“I’m the person who’s going to give you your last bath,” Graff said. “I’m the one who will straighten your nose, sew on your ear, wash your hair — sometimes three or four times — to get the asphalt and blood out.”
He talked about how statistically, parents who lose a young child will likely get a divorce within a few years, due to guilt, and the “enemy” of the calendar.
“Your birthday will come up and you’re not there,” he said. “Thanksgiving will come and there will be an empty chair at the table where you would sit, then there will be Christmas or Hanukkah, or that special vacation.”
Graff encouraged students who drank too much to accept the consequences and call their parents for a ride, rather than facing consequences that may be much worse.
Students who participated in the crash scene and their parents then read “farewell” letters to the assembly, bringing tears to the eyes of many in attendance.
Analy principal Chris Heller then addressed the assembly saying that he’s 6’6”, 260 pounds — a “man’s man” — and that it’s okay to cry, “So go ahead and grab a tissue.”
He encouraged kids to make positive choices.
“As a father of two young girls, I can never imagine being in a situation where one or both of them died due to someone else’s poor choice,” he said. “Every choice you make, you’re held accountable. The wrong choice can be permanent.”
Afterwards, Molly Eckler, the mother of Emery who was “killed” in the accident, said that she was very affected by her participation in the program. She spent the summer anticipating it and grappled with her feelings should Emery really be in an auto accident.
“This isn’t rocket science. Do parents not really know?” she said. “It’s about paying attention and being present.”
As for Emery, she spent the previous two days “completely blown away emotionally.”
“Working on the letter was horrible,” she said. “I need to say these things to my parents every day.”
She added that the process forced her to grow up a little, and hopes that everyone learned from it.
Heller has been through the program twice at his former school in Middletown, and said that it took about a year to put together and is totally student-driven.
“You don’t just pick up the phone and have helicopters land in your field,” Heller said. “We had to jump through a lot of hoops.”
According to Heller, the program costs about $10,000 to produce, and the money will be reimbursed through the California Highway Patrol.
“Hopefully, it will make a difference for just one kid,” he said.
Nicole Ochoa said that she and Hannah Maschwitz took a leadership class last year and that’s when they decided to put the program together. She also credits Principal’s Secretary Alicia Mills and Vice-Principal’s Secretary Denise Fisher for their work on the project.
“It was a new experience and the best I’ve had in high school,” she said. “I was really affected by it and a lot of people were trying to find out why they were affected by it.”
She said that a lot of the girls were crying during the crash and a lot of the boys thought it was dumb, but they came around when the helicopter landed on the softball field, adding that the hardest part was keeping it from her friends for so long.
A line of mourners dressed in black carrying roses for the relatives of the fallen passed the coffin sitting in the middle of the basketball court.
Death took up the rear, scythe firmly in hand.
The mock funeral for student Grace Emery was the centerpiece of the assembly that was the final act of Every 15 Minutes, a program designed to give students and parents “real-life experience without the real-life risks,” according to its Web site.
The first day of the program featured a staged traffic accident that took place on Morris Street, just below the Analy softball field. The “accident” involved four students, who had specific roles in the presentation. The driver of one vehicle was the drunk driver, whose passenger died at the scene, while the driver of the other vehicle was paralyzed and his passenger was taken to the hospital in a helicopter.
About 16 students played “living dead,” and their obituaries were read in classrooms every 15 minutes in the lead up to the event.
The assembly took place the following day (Oct. 29), and featured speakers and a film of the crash scene.
West Sonoma County Union High School District Superintendent Keller McDonald was the first of a line of speakers that included a funeral director, several public officials and parents of the students involved in the program.
McDonald talked about the way Emery’s life touched the entire community, and about his feelings that resulted from the experience.
“Community is the fabric that holds us all together,” he said. “And when one piece is tugged it causes a ripple effect throughout the community.”
Sebastopol Police Chief Jeff Weaver then spoke about the reason for the program, which he said was because “so many people in Sonoma County are dying from drunk driving.”
“You’re the future of the community, and we want to ensure you face the future safely,” he said. “I’ve come to know many of you and I know more and more that the future is in good hands, and we want you to reach that future.”
Then funeral director Bill Graff from Daniel’s Chapel of the Roses gave a very graphic speech about the effects of drunken driving deaths on those left behind.
“I’m the person who’s going to give you your last bath,” Graff said. “I’m the one who will straighten your nose, sew on your ear, wash your hair — sometimes three or four times — to get the asphalt and blood out.”
He talked about how statistically, parents who lose a young child will likely get a divorce within a few years, due to guilt, and the “enemy” of the calendar.
“Your birthday will come up and you’re not there,” he said. “Thanksgiving will come and there will be an empty chair at the table where you would sit, then there will be Christmas or Hanukkah, or that special vacation.”
Graff encouraged students who drank too much to accept the consequences and call their parents for a ride, rather than facing consequences that may be much worse.
Students who participated in the crash scene and their parents then read “farewell” letters to the assembly, bringing tears to the eyes of many in attendance.
Analy principal Chris Heller then addressed the assembly saying that he’s 6’6”, 260 pounds — a “man’s man” — and that it’s okay to cry, “So go ahead and grab a tissue.”
He encouraged kids to make positive choices.
“As a father of two young girls, I can never imagine being in a situation where one or both of them died due to someone else’s poor choice,” he said. “Every choice you make, you’re held accountable. The wrong choice can be permanent.”
Afterwards, Molly Eckler, the mother of Emery who was “killed” in the accident, said that she was very affected by her participation in the program. She spent the summer anticipating it and grappled with her feelings should Emery really be in an auto accident.
“This isn’t rocket science. Do parents not really know?” she said. “It’s about paying attention and being present.”
As for Emery, she spent the previous two days “completely blown away emotionally.”
“Working on the letter was horrible,” she said. “I need to say these things to my parents every day.”
She added that the process forced her to grow up a little, and hopes that everyone learned from it.
Heller has been through the program twice at his former school in Middletown, and said that it took about a year to put together and is totally student-driven.
“You don’t just pick up the phone and have helicopters land in your field,” Heller said. “We had to jump through a lot of hoops.”
According to Heller, the program costs about $10,000 to produce, and the money will be reimbursed through the California Highway Patrol.
“Hopefully, it will make a difference for just one kid,” he said.
Nicole Ochoa said that she and Hannah Maschwitz took a leadership class last year and that’s when they decided to put the program together. She also credits Principal’s Secretary Alicia Mills and Vice-Principal’s Secretary Denise Fisher for their work on the project.
“It was a new experience and the best I’ve had in high school,” she said. “I was really affected by it and a lot of people were trying to find out why they were affected by it.”
She said that a lot of the girls were crying during the crash and a lot of the boys thought it was dumb, but they came around when the helicopter landed on the softball field, adding that the hardest part was keeping it from her friends for so long.
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