'Every 15 Minutes' teaches Clovis North students a powerful lesson

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A powerful and emotional lesson about drinking and driving Friday left many Clovis North students in tears.

The "Every 15 Minutes" program urges students to make wise choices and shows them how quickly lives are changed as a result of drunk driving.

Clovis North students were shaken up by a dramatic scenario about the deadly possibilities that can end dreams after a night of shots and drunk selfies. The actors are students who recreated a crash scene that was followed by courtroom drama involving a real judge and real attorneys.

Then for the first time, one of the seniors stood up to share her real-life story.

"People don't know that what this court scene was that you showed in 10 minutes, took three years," said student Hunter Winslow. "She's up for parole in 15 years. I still miss my father."

Winslow woke up in 2011 to her mother crying and a coroner at her door. A drunk driver killed her father, Frank, during her freshman year.

The drama may have been only acting, but it's not far off from Winslow's true-life story.

"There are photos of my father slumped over the wheel of that beautiful Jeep of his, with blood stained on the passenger seat. Those exist," said Winslow.

Winslow's decision to speak out has been therapeutic for her, according to her mother, and a way to get her classmates to think before they drink.

"To be able to really to present to her peers, kids that know her around school as Hunter the water polo player and the swimmer, but they don't really know her life. And for her to be able to present to them the beauty of what her dad was, and who he was in her life and the tragedy. This was really I think a little bit of closure for her," said Nancy Winslow.

The assembly ended with a speaker who shared the story of a successful mother of three who became hooked on prescription drugs. One day she struck and killed a man while driving under the influence. The crowd was stunned when she took off her street clothes revealing her prison uniform. She is serving her sixth of nine years in prison for vehicular manslaughter and was brought to Clovis North by correctional officers.

Hunter Winslow has had some great triumphs, despite the painful journey of losing her dad. Earlier this week, she signed a letter of intent to play water polo at Cal Berkeley.