What:   Every 15 Minutes program
When:  Thursday, April 19 at 10 a.m. and Friday, April 20 at 8 a.m.
Where: Basic High School, 400 Palo Verde Dr.

Henderson, Nev. – The juniors and seniors at Basic High School will participate in a realistic, two-day event on Thursday and Friday designed to personalize the grim cost of drinking and driving.

By sharing this unique experience with the students, we hope to illustrate the consequences bad decisions can have on the lives of the students and their families. Every 15 minutes, a driver, passenger, or an innocent bystander dies from an alcohol-related car crash. Every weekend, a teenager dies in a car crash and half of those accidents involve alcohol.

“The Every 15 Minutes program lets the students participate in an experience that shows them what can happen when someone gets behind the wheel of a car after drinking,” said James White, Henderson Police chief. “We want to work with the students and help them see the potential harm poor choices can have on someone’s life.”

Basic High School will be the site of the latest Every 15 Minutes program put on by the Henderson Police Department with the cooperation of the Clark County School District, Henderson Fire Department, and many others. On Thursday at 10 a.m. a fatal traffic collision will be simulated for the students. Law enforcement and emergency medical services will respond.

One student will “die” in the accident at the scene of the crash. One student will be airlifted to a hospital with major injuries, while another student will be taken to a hospital by ambulance. The police will give the teenage driver a field sobriety test and arrest the driver for DUI.

In addition to the crash scene, a pre-selected student will "die" every 15 minutes throughout the day. These "dead" students represent the nation's loss of teenage lives everyday. These students will be removed from class and not return until after the two-day program is completed, showing the loss involved in fatal crashes.

On Friday, the students will gather for an assembly to talk about the experience. One of the students involved in the simulated fatal traffic accident and one of their parents will speak at the assembly. A representative of the Henderson City Attorney’s Office will talk to the students about the law regarding driving under the influence. A mother who lost her daughter in an auto accident involving a DUI driver will also speak.

Basic High School freshmen and sophomores will attend an assembly to familiarize them with the program. In 2003, Henderson Police added an assembly for the freshmen and sophomores, who will participate in the program when they are either juniors or seniors.       

The Henderson Police Department started participating in the nationwide Every 15 Minutes program in May 2001 with a program at Foothill High School. Since the first event, more than 35,000 students have taken part in the program in Henderson.

Note to the Media: The simulated crash will on be Thursday, April 19, at 10 a.m. on Palo Verde Drive in front of Basic High School.