Full Notification

The Pasadena Police Department’s Traffic Section will be conducting “Every Fifteen Minutes”, a teen drinking and driving awareness program, at La Salle High School on March 27, 2014 at 8:00 am. A realistic mock fatal collision will be staged in front of the school on Sierra Madre Blvd. west of Michillinda Ave. Students will be directed to the collision scene and view participating fellow students involved in the “tragedy.” The public is welcome to observe the collision activities in front of the school beginning at 8:00 AM. Over the course of two days, students will experience the “grim reaper” of death, staged loss of fellow classmates, and family grief as student participants and their families share their obituaries and deepest thoughts on the subject of drinking and driving. Eastbound Sierra Madre Blvd. will be closed from Hastings Ranch Rd. to Michilinda Ave. from 8:00 AM until 10:30 AM for the program.

At the end of each school year, hundreds of students across the country become grim statistics because of drinking and driving. The Pasadena Police Department, along with the Pasadena Fire Department, Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office and Huntington Memorial Hospital will participate in this major demonstration to expose teens to the sobering realities of alcohol and driving with the aim of preventing these deadly consequences. “Every 15 Minutes” is presented annually at one of Pasadena’s high schools. The program was created in 1995 when there was a drunk driving related death every 15 minutes. That statistic has now been reduced to one in every 51 minutes, due in part to the success of this, and similar programs. Funding for the program was provided through the generous support and assistance of State Farm Insurance.