Victim Christina Song is wrapped in a body bag to be taken to the county morgue.

Every 15 Minutes

Drunken drivers work in tandem with the Grim Reaper

By Michelle Alaimo

Photographs by George Sakkestad

Students at Saratoga High School are just now coming off of two days of emotional distress that may very well change some of their lives. And while the exercise tested the character of the entire student body, when it was finally over and reality set in, nearly everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It all began on a soggy April 5, when students witnessed five of their fellow classmates being "rescued" by local emergency personnel from a mock crash.

A two-car head-on accident, students soon learned, had killed junior Christina Song when she was thrown through the windshield of a car driven by senior Jordan Jones, who had been drinking earlier. Another passenger in the car was injured, but not seriously.

In the other car, driver Arthur Akimoto was fighting for his life after being cut out of his crumpled car with the jaws of life by the Saratoga Fire Department. His passenger was not seriously injured.

Students and faculty watched in shock as Song's soaked, cold body was zipped into a bag and loaded into a hearse. She was later taken to the county morgue where she would lie alone for a half hour among the truly dead, waiting to be identified by her parents.





The Grim Reaper keeps close watch as fire crews and paramedics try to save the lives of victims of the mock car crash.




Jones was given a sobriety test, which he failed, and was led away in handcuffs by Sheriff deputies. He was later booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.

Akimoto was not so lucky. CPR attempts at the scene by paramedics were unsuccessful. He was taken to Community Hospital of Los Gatos where attempts to revive him were also unsuccessful.

SHS students and faculty witnessed the simulated rescue attempts while sitting in the football bleachers in pouring rain with icy winds ripping through the scene. Their only protection from the weather were black garbage sacks. Still, nearly all the students stood and watched the somber event.

Fortunately for all those involved, the scene they had witnessed was not real but part of a two-day program called Every 15 Minutes, sponsored by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control grant assistance to law enforcement. The school also received many other grants from various organizations, and is the first in the county to participate in the event which graphically details--instead of lectures--what can happen when someone drives drunk. The two-day event first was staged in Chico to encourage students to think about the consequences of drinking and driving.

Throughout the day more than 20 other students not involved in the accident were escorted out of their classes every 15 minutes by the Grim Reaper, dressed appropriately in black cloak and hood, illustrating the statistics of those who die in alcohol-related accidents.

A black carnation and the student's obituary were left where the student sat. The "living dead" wore toe tags that told how they died. At the same time, a uniformed officer visited each student's home and notified their parents of their children's' deaths.





Among the students who were taken from their classrooms were (from left) Karin Lewis, Karen Bencala, Jessica So, John Finnegan and Manny Benhamou.




The living dead and those "killed" in the crash were later brought to an overnight retreat, where they wrote letters to their parents, explaining how it feels to be taken away without saying good-bye.

From the time they were declared dead to the "funeral" assembly the next day, students were allowed no contact with family and friends.

It was during the emotion-charged funeral on the second day that friends and family were reunited. Jones, Song and Akimoto recounted through tears what they experienced the previous day.

Song said she lay on the gurney, shivering inside her body bag at the morgue awaiting the arrival of her parents to identify her. Except for the "pale and shriveling" bodies around her, she was all alone. "It was the scariest experience I've ever gone through," Song said while sobbing to her fellow students at the assembly on April 6.





Parents (from left) Christine Lewis, Linda Bruton and Peter Song listen as students explain what it was like to be taken away without a chance to say their good-byes.




Akimoto said he too was "scared to death." He told students how hard it was when he was declared dead at the hospital and his mother began crying.

Jones then told of the "unbelievable" feelings he had after being fingerprinted and placed in a jail cell.

"All those actions made me feel like I'm the one responsible and that I'm going to pay for my actions," he said.

Students watched clips of the following day's events and listened to parents and community members tell how the program had affected them. In the end, many students watching the funeral in the school's gym were overcome with emotion. Some cried, some sat somber-faced while others fought back tears.

Lynna Taylor, staff coordinator for Students Taking A New Direction and organizer of the event, told students that everyone involved in the program "cared enough to make their words actions."

"You only get one life," Taylor said. "You don't get a second chance."

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