Firefighters help rescue Thea Le from a mock DUI near Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students participate in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students participate in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A firefighter prays over Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Thea Le, left, and Roman Christianson, after they “died” in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students participate in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Firefighters cut the roof off a car to rescue Santa Margarita Catholic High School student Damien Cabada during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School student Carley Bowles does a field sobriety test before being arrested for drunk driving during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Connor Murphy, left, Caroline Hayden, center, and Madeleine Wagne react during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students participate in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School student Izzy Trichet reacts to dead classmate, Roman Christensen, during in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Connor Murphy, left, Caroline Hayden, center, and Brandon Kim react during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students participate in a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School seniors watch a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Izzy Trichet and Brandon Kim discover their classmate, Quint Steffey, has been thrown throw a windshield during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Firefighters rescue Santa Margarita Catholic High School student Quint Steffey and classmate, Izzy Trichet, watches during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School seniors watch a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Madeleine Wagne and Connor Murphy reacts to dead classmates during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School students Thea Le, left, and Roman Christensen, play dead during a mock DUI crash in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, on Monday, May 2, 2022. The demonstration, complete with students in make-up, wrecked cars and crying parents, was staged by Friends Against Drinking and Driving. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The same traffic collision has happened 120 times in Orange County.
The first time, back in the late 1980s, two people were killed and three were injured. The next 119 times have been a simulation to teach high school students about the dangers of drinking and driving.
This week’s crash happened outside Santa Margarita Catholic High School. The scenario had high schoolers driving home from a post-prom party where they were drinking. Some of the 23 students who participated were made up to look dead, complete with blood splattered on the roadway. Some were passengers and one was arrested for driving under the influence.
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi, the founder of Friends Against Drinking and Driving, said they have been doing mock DUI crashes around the county for 31 years to, “show teenagers and young adults, that are sitting 20 to 30 feet away, what happens when you drink and drive.”
Senior Thea Le played a dead student in the crash who was carried away in a body bag near the end of the demonstration. She said she doesn’t drive yet, she only has her learner’s permit, but already she “realizes this truly does happen and people need to be more careful.”
Izzy Trichet, who played another crash victim, said the mock event still made her “really, really emotional.”
“I started crying,” she said, “because I saw my friends bleeding out.”
“I hope students will realize how making a bad decision ripples out, like throwing a rock in a still pond, everyone from the arrested drunk driver to the injured or past away and all their families,” Assistant Principal Sammer Dawazeh said.
