A new way to deliver anti-drunk driving message

DOWNTOWN — Months after scrapping a state-sponsored program that tapped police and fire resources to stage a mock drunk-driving accident and its impacts on friends and families, upperclassman at Burbank High School on Wednesday were reintroduced to the perils of drugs and alcohol.

When administrators announced the cancellation of the mock accident, “Every 15 Minutes,” arguing that a one-time shock approach failed to reach today’s teenagers, some city officials worried that students would lose the first-hand exposure credited with reducing the number of alcohol-related vehicle tragedies.

Funded through a $10,000-grant from the California Highway Patrol, the city pledged its support with an additional $15,000 for the annual drunk driving re-enactment. Still, district officials complained about the amount of time and resources needed to run the event, which alternated between Burbank and John Burroughs high schools.

The alternative program, despite lacking the pageantry of emergency responders, court visits and a grim reaper, featured a casket draped in athletic apparel, trophies and notebooks to serve as a stark reminder that students could just as easily be gathered to mourn the loss of a classmate, teacher Doug Grimshaw said.

“This casket is here because the first time you guys see each other after graduation should be a reunion, not a memorial service or funeral,” he said.

Police officers Tim Dyrness and Jamal Childs mimicked field sobriety tests as students slogged through the exercises wearing “beer goggles.” The assembly also featured the presentations of a county coroner, defense attorney and 19-year-old woman who lost her mother at the hands of an impaired driver.

Jocelyn Garrity was 16 when she said her life changed forever.

At only 19 years older than her daughter, the lines of communication were always open.

“I liked it a lot more that way,” she said. “I never had to lie to her about what I was doing. I was much closer to her than most of my friends were with their moms. She was my best friend.”

Tragedy struck March 31, 2007, when her mom was struck and killed by a drunk driver. “I remember falling and screaming on the floor of that jam-packed emergency room, not caring that everyone was staring at me,” she said.