The Every 15 Minutes endeavor that offers a re-enactment of what happens following a deadly driving under the influence traffic accident riveted the attention of Ripon High juniors and seniors Thursday morning.

 Retired San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Chris Stevens acted as the master of ceremonies for the E-15 that brought members of the CHP along with Ripon Police, Ripon Fire Department, an AMR Ambulance and police chaplains to the campus.

Videographers – four in all – were filming the event that will be shown during the funeral set for today in the high school gym where speakers will make an even greater impact on the students giving their presentations next to several caskets.  Those speakers will include a Superior Court Judge, a prosecuting attorney and others as the DUI suspect will sit nearby in an orange jail jump suit in the custody of two police officers.  

Students will hear that going through the DUI program is actually a class that teaches them the results of drinking and driving that could lead up to a fatal crash and having to shoulder their financial and criminal responsibility.  They are going to hear the stark reality of possibly being prosecuted for second degree murder and the prison time that will result in killing someone while being inebriated behind the wheel.

Many of the students involved in the program spent the night away from home to give themselves and their parents a feeling of loss of their children with an emptiness in their homes.  Parents and students alike are writing letters to each other telling what they mean to each other and noting just how much their loss will be felt.

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com.