At approximately 8:00 this morning, six students were involved in an alcohol-related accident on U.S. 421 in Delphi, Indiana while driving to school. Of the six involved, three were killed.

Police were hesitant to release much information to the general public, but this they knew for certain: the vehicle containing the intoxicated driver bypassed the stop light turning onto Armory Rd. and collided head on with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

School was cancelled today to mourn and honor all those involved, and tomorrow all students are being asked to wear blue in solidarity. This tragedy has hit close to home for all the students and administration here at DCSC, and the extent of the grief is taking its toll.

It was later revealed that Jacob Clouser, high school junior, had a blood-alcohol concentration .15, almost 88% higher than Indiana’s legal limit of .08. According to an online informational website titled B.R.A.D. (be responsible about drinking), a B.A.C between .13 and .15 brings about “gross motor impairment and lack of physical control, along with blurred vision and major loss of balance.” All of these symptoms were concluded to have been present when Clouser’s vehicle collided with the Ford Mustang seating Conner Spitznagle, Erika Carroll, Abigail Napier, and Dean Hampton.

Police and other essential medical personnel arrived shortly after receiving a 911 call from fellow cars who had passed the sight of the accident. Rescuers discovered the bodies of Spitznagle, Napier, and Hampton, who had been pronounced dead on arrival. A helicopter airlifted Dylan Hart, who was present in the vehicle containing Clouser, to Methodist Hospital located in Indianapolis to treat him for baseline skull fractures and internal injuries whose extent could not be determined at the scene. Carroll was sent via ambulance to I.U. Health where she remains in intensive care at this hour.

Soon after the accident, Clouser was treated for his minor injuries, and was then taken into police custody. He was arrested under the charges of vehicular manslaughter and reckless endangerment upon many more. Clouser’s court date has been set for Tuesday, May 31, where he must preside in front of standing judge, Craig Wellnitz.

Mrs. Norma Carpenter, the high school SADD sponsor, showed much dismay and distraught feelings about the proceedings. “What a powerful message we have just sent to all of you. You all need to think before you get behind the wheel drunk. It is not just your life that you could affect, but the lives of innocent bystanders as well.”

The simulation titled “Every 15 minutes” is a dramatization that permits any school willing to participate to inform students in the most shocking of ways to the dangers and loss inflicted by drinking and driving.

Statistics provided by MADD show that each day people drive drunk more than 300,000 times, but only 3,200 are arrested. MADD also showed that over 40% of all tenth graders drink alcohol on a semi-regular basis, and that ⅓ of all those arrested for drinking and driving are repeat offenders. Unfortunately, as society continues to change and the media continues to glamorize alcohol, these numbers are only rising.

Every 15 minutes in the United States, one person is killed by a drunk driver. In order to illustrate this, one DCHS student will “die” every 15 minutes. The grim reaper, along with police officers, will circulate the school throughout the day, and choose a select amount of students that they will say were “killed by a drunk driver.” These students will be pulled from their classes and their obituaries will be hung in the classroom that they were taken from and on the senior mezzanine to be seen by the student body.

Even though “Every 15 Minutes” is only enacted for one school day, it holds a message that will last a lifetime, and the message is simple: Your life is precious, but so are the lives of those around you. Protect each other, love each other, care for each other. Don’t squander the time you have with someone, you never know when it could be taken away.