I am from a small north Texas town, and not very long ago, we lost 4 young, vibrant teenagers, coming home from the theater. They were hit head on by a drunk driver.

This morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table working on my column, listening to my police scanner, when I heard sirens. I heard things like: high school, person trapped in vehicle, two deceased, have care flight helicopter land in the high school football field, run a record check on this individual for prior drunk driving arrests, transporting parents to the funeral home……I can tell you, my heart stopped. All I could think of was "oh no, not again". When shortly after that, my daughter pulled into my driveway, then my son called for something, the relief was almost overwhelming to me. All I could do then was feel the pain that the parents of those other children were going through.

I called the local radio station to see if I could learn any more details about the accident, and learned about a wonderful program called "Every 15 Minutes" because of the fact that every 15 minutes someone is killed by a drunk driver.

The program was founded by the Chico, California, Police Dept. to discourage drinking and driving.

The coordinator of the program here was Officer Chris Crawford of the Weatherford, Texas Police Dept. The cost of the program was approximately $7000.00, and was funded by some local businesses, and large companies here.

The fake fatal alcohol related traffic accident was staged using students. It required months of planning to have all the emergency personnel available and still have units to handle any real emergencies that may occur.

The Grim Reaper was at the High School to take a student out of class every 15 min. Then a pre-written obituary, from that students parents was read to the remaining students. Also every 15 minutes a heart beat was heard over the intercom that slowed to a flatline, reminding the students that someone else died by the hands of a drunk driver.

One of the "injured" students was air lifted to the local hospital. Her parents came to visit her and she wasn't allowed to speak. It was so realistic, her parents cried.

After the "accident" police officers involved went to the homes of the parents to notify them. It was very emotional.

That evening, an overnight retreat was held for the students involved. A sobriety training drill with "fatal vision" goggles, was held to show them how it feels to go through an obstacle course under the influence of alcohol.

The students also wrote letters to their parents saying, "Today I died". A few of these letters are enclosed here.

Officer Crawford had a professional production company film the "accident", edit it, and set it to music. The video was shown to the entire assembly in school the next day. The footage of the drunk driver going to jail, funeral scenes and the students at the hospital were very moving. The emotional impact of the whole program was overwhelming for all.

Two of the guest speakers were the parents of children who were killed by drunk drivers. The students weren't the only ones affected. One of the parents said , "I don't know if I was as prepared for it to be as emotional as it was. My heart was in my throat about half of the time"

If this program sounds harsh to you, that's good. It takes programs like this to makes kids and adults alike aware of the consequences of drunk driving. It is especially good this time of year, when most high schools are planning proms and graduation parties. How many of you can recall losing a classmate from drinking too much at prom or graduation parties? The statistics should be enough to scare most people sober.

I beg of all of you, please do not let your friends drive if they have been drinking. If that makes them mad, so be it. I would rather have a mad friend, than a dead friend.

I would like to see all night clubs offer free non-alcoholic drinks to designated drivers, and offer taxi rides for their customers who are too drunk to drive. Granted, this would be an expense for the owner, but the life he saves might be his own, or one of his family members.

For all of you kids who are going to prom and graduation parties: please watch out for each other. If you see someone drinking, take the car keys away from them. Don't let a joyous celebration be ruined by alcohol.

I hope this column will encourage other high schools to implement like programs for their students. "Every 15 Minutes" gives students a close look at the consequences of driving drunk.