Every 15 Minutes at Northgate High Tuesday

If you see a fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, and even a CalStar helicopter rushing towards Northgate High School Tuesday, don’t worry. The massive emergency response is actually part of a dramatic recreation called Every 15 Minutes that is designed to teach teenagers about the dangers of drinking and driving.

For Every 15 Minutes, police will be closing Hutchinson Road near Northgate High School to through traffic between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. A staged DUI traffic collision will take place in the 800 block of Hutchinson Road.

Every 15 Minutes is a two-day event that is presented to high school juniors and seniors. The title refers to the statistic that, every 15 minutes, someone in the United States dies as the result of an alcohol-related collision. The program recreates the aftermath of the crash, with students pretending to be accident victims, and sometimes their parents participating and pretending to get the news that their child has been killed. According to the Walnut Creek police Crime Prevention Coordinator Amy Doyle, the purpose of the program is “to challenge teens to think about drinking, driving, personal safety, the need to make mature, responsible decisions, and the impact their decisions have on family, friends and many others.”

Every 15 Minutes at Northgate is being organized by the high school, the City of Walnut Creek, the Walnut Creek police, and the California Highway Patrol.

If you are interested in learning more about the Every 15 Minutes program, Northgate High School will host a community meeting this Thursday at 7 p.m. You can watch a video of the two-day event, and program participants will be available to discuss alcohol-related issues and answer questions about the program.