**WARNING** The video and photos show a re-enactment of a fatal accident and scenes of death and may be emotional disturbing. View with caution
The Every 15 Minutes Program a success for all who participated. Congratulations to everyone involved with the Every 15 Minutes Program that took place during the last two days, April 30th and May 1st at Tillamook High School. Excellent job seniors Peyton Troxel and Haidyn Upton for organizing this event as their senior project. The Every 15 Minutes program is a dramatic, two-day high school initiative designed to prevent teen drunk and distracted driving by simulating a fatal crash. It highlights the statistic that a person dies in an alcohol-related crash every 15 minutes, featuring a mock accident, police arrest, hospital visit, and courtroom to show real-world consequences. It was an important and impactful message to everyone present.
Here is a first-hand account about this year’s Every 15 Minute experience from THS Alumni and teacher Hayden Bush.
April 30, 2026 – Long post…and this one is hard to put into words, but I feel like, for my own reasons and for others, I need to. Today was a tough day. While it was perhaps among the toughest I’ve had as an educator, it was important.
Today at Tillamook High School we participated in the “Every 15 Minutes Program” and if you’ve never seen it, it’s not just an assembly or a lesson. It’s an experience. Throughout the day, students are pulled from class one by one. Each time, it represents a life lost to impaired driving. Their classmates watch as names are read, obituaries are shared, and those students return as the “walking dead”…present in physical form, but gone. The first day ends in a mock accident that was caused by an impaired driver (all mocked – not “real”). The students go all out…first responders … chaos … sadness…silence. During that entire scene, the “walking dead” stand behind it all, watching and representing the lives lost. Lastly, there is a mock trial where students hear from the family members affected by this tragedy – the family of the “deceased” and also the family of the “driver.”
I’ve experienced this program before… twice as a student and several times now as a teacher. In fact, I participated in my junior year of high school. I’ve gone to the mock trials and talked to the families with kids involved. I love it and respect it so much.
Today was different and possibly the most powerful for me yet as a teacher. As I was walking to the main building, one of the “walking dead” was going the opposite direction to my classroom. It was my niece, Brooke. Even knowing it wasn’t real didn’t make it feel any less real in that moment. I went back to my room during my prep period and just sat there and cried real tears and felt real feelings. Later, during the crash scene, I couldn’t stop looking over at her. Overcome with emotion and tears in my eyes, the whole time, I just stood there staring at her, thinking about the reality the program represents…that theoretically, statistically, she was gone from us.
In my 3rd period class, two students were pulled. As I sit here writing this, their photos and the shadows of their attendance are still sitting on the desks in my classroom, left there for tomorrow. It’s quiet, but it says everything.
Several times today in class, I shared pieces of my own life…experiences connected to impaired driving that I don’t always talk about. I wasn’t composed. I wasn’t polished. I was just real. I cried in front of students more than I ever have. Being honest, I am glad that the emotions came and things went the way they went. They got to see Hayden Bush, a dad, husband, uncle, brother, son, and friend, and not just the rigid teacher Mr. Bush. I’d like to think that for someone, that mattered.
I am trying to put together my thoughts and share my vulnerability today. I think sometimes our students don’t need us to be perfect. They need us to be human, to show them that it’s okay to feel something deeply and that it’s okay to be honest about life. Days like today remind me that even when it’s hard, even when it hits close to home, there is still so much importance in showing up, being present, and doing our jobs. It is, however, ok to be vulnerable.
There’s more to come tomorrow, including a wrap-up assembly that brings everything together, and if today is any indication, it will be powerful. I’m incredibly proud of the work that went into this, especially Peyton and Haidyn for their leadership on this senior project, and grateful for the staff, volunteers, and community agencies who showed up to make it real for our kids. My heart goes out to all of my friends, family members, colleagues, and others who have had impaired driving affect thier lives.
Programs like this are heavy. They’re uncomfortable. They stay with you, and that’s the point. Take care of each other. Hug your loved ones.
Be real…be vulnerable…and make good choices.
Check out the video made by THS Alumni and Manzanita Police Officer John Garcia: https://galleries.vidflow.co/bwpa89gb