During the first day, one student was removed from class every 15 minutes, symbolizing that someone loses their life to a drunk driver every 15 minutes in the United States. A uniformed officer and a counselor then entered the classroom and read each student’s obituary to those remaining in the class. When fellow classmates had to stare at an empty chair throughout the day, they were continuously reminded of the loss of their friend and/or classmate.
A simulated drunk driving collision of high school students was staged behind the school in a residential intersection, surrounded by hundreds of students from both Rosary Academy and Servite.
The crash began with a pre-recorded 911 call played over the school’s loudspeaker, which triggered an emergency response by law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, and the coroner. Each agency used the drill as a training exercise to simulate real-life responses. The paramedics treated one student for minor injuries. A second critically injured student was trapped inside a vehicle and was rescued by firefighters using the “Jaws of Life.” A third student was declared dead and removed by the coroner. The fourth student, designated as the drunk driver, was given a field sobriety test and arrested for driving under the influence.
After the collision, the drama continues for the students involved in the crash. Officers booked the drunk driver into jail. After the booking was completed, the drunk driver was made to call a parent or guardian to explain what he had done. Emergency medical responders transported the critically injured patient to a local trauma center where doctors simulated attempts to save his life. Unable to do so, the doctor on duty had the grave task of notifying the student’s parents of their child’s untimely death. Meanwhile, the student who died on-scene is taken to the morgue, weighed and measured, and placed in a body bag until his parents were able to identify the body.
At the end of the day, law enforcement and chaperones took the living dead to an overnight retreat. Once the students became members of the living dead, there was no contact with family or friends. At the retreat, the students participated in team building activities and learned first-hand from people who have been involved in, or affected by, an incident involving alcohol.
The evening ended as the students wrote letters to their loved ones, expressing the thoughts they would convey if they had not been killed on that particular day.
The living dead students returned to school to attend a mock funeral during a student assembly. During the assembly, everyone in the theater watched a film of the previous day’s events.
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