When she took it on as her senior project, Macy Peay knew that “Every 15 Minutes” would likely be an emotional experience. But seeing her sister Jenna Peay and friend Adeline Taylor pulled from wrecked vehicles by paramedics brought her to tears. Jenna was carried to an idling helicopter on Quincy Junior-Senior High School’s athletic field. Adeline was placed in a body bag and loaded into a hearse.
Macy was visibly shaken. The school’s principal and others made sure she was all right.
“I didn’t expect choosing my sister and my best friend as the deceased students to affect me so much,” Macy said, drying her eyes.
For about an hour on the morning of Wednesday, May 15, a section of roadway near the high school was the scene of a simulated drunk-driving event. Quincy Junction Road just north of Main Street was dominated by blaring sirens and diesel exhaust from approaching fire units and ambulances. About 25 emergency medical service and law enforcement personnel shouted instructions to one another as they worked to clear the staged crash scene.
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Two damaged cars appeared to have been in a T-bone” collision. Firefighters used the “jaws of life” to dismantle one of the cars so they could extricate two victims. The suspected DUI driver, a student actor, got a field sobriety test from a California Highway Patrol officer, who then handcuffed him and led him away to a patrol vehicle.
Students and staff watched solemnly from the adjacent parking lot, falling silent when the obituaries of the two dead students were read over a sheriff’s unit’s loudspeaker. Some in the crowd wiped tears away. Lurking among the first responders was the Grim Reaper, a constant symbol of the death and loss that pervaded the scene.
Originating in 1995, “Every 15 Minutes” is a two-day event built around a simulated DUI collision and emergency response. Quincy senior Macy was inspired to lead it by her older brother, Chandler Peay, now a Plumas County sheriff’s deputy, who has been involved with the event for over a decade. She worked with all the participating agencies and a videographer, who documented it. She selected the students who would play the mock victims and wrote their obituaries. Macy also procured supplies and T-shirts for the participants, and she arranged for Sierra Pacific Industries to donate $4,000 to the event.
QJSHS Principal Jennifer Scheel had high praise for Macy’s initiative and leadership. “She’s done an excellent job, coordinating with California Highway Patrol, coordinating with the students and their parents. She just checks in with me, and makes sure it’s all going to work,” Scheel said.
The accident simulation of “Every 15 Minutes” is followed on the second day by a mock funeral for the victims. Law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services, hospitals, funeral homes, and other agencies participate to make the experience as realistic as possible. It is designed to foster meaningful discussion among students, parents, and school staff on the dangers of drunk driving and of riding with an intoxicated driver.
