Every other year, students, administrators, Kinnelon Fire and Police Departments and other service areas come together to create a real-life crash scene to depict the events that occur as a result of the crash. April 12-13, juniors and seniors participated in the production of “Every 15 Minutes.”

On Thursday, the day began with several announcements calling select juniors and seniors out of class because they were acting as “the dead.” Their staged deaths depict the result of a drunk driving accident. Senior Clio Pallis and well as other makeup volunteers painted faces white and the selected students could not speak for the remainder of the day. Senior Katie Goralski said, “You had people trying to interact with you and couldn’t say anything. After we had a group therapy session, we wrote a letter to our parents outlining the experience.” Similarly, Senior Daniella Gadaleta said “Being dead in school was odd because you could not answer any questions in class. It felt uncomfortable and unusual, which was the end goal of the program.”

The mock crash scene began at around noon, and when the tarp was unveiled, it revealed the smashed cars and bloodied students. The juniors and seniors sat on bleachers in shock, witnessing the seemingly real mock accident. Senior Katya Minervini said, “It was a lot to take in. That was the only thing that everyone talked about for the rest of the week.” TV and Film Teacher, Casey deWaal’s film crew got in on the action and filmed the stressful chaos. Students shed tears, police sirens rang, and ambulances fled the scene with victims.

After the mock scene, the film crew stayed late at the school that night to edit and produce the video for presentation on Friday morning at the mock funeral. Each student worked tirelessly until the video was complete.

The execution, production, and mock funeral were successful due to a community effort. Although it was emotionally tolling, it was a great learning opportunity. The students were moved and watching the video as a junior and senior class helped them bond together, as acquaintances gave each other tissues and friends gave shoulders to cry on. Gadaleta said, “I learned the lesson that tomorrow isn’t a promise. We should show the important people in our lives that we love them because we never know when our loved ones or ourselves won’t be here anymore.”

One such student, Haley Angelica sums up her feelings about being apart of this amazing opportunity. She mentions, “It was one of the most difficult yet moving programs I’ve ever been a part of. It will forever have an impact on my life, and I hope it touches the lives of others. Though it was difficult, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made to be a part of this program.”