The junior and senior classes attended an assembly In One Instant Teen Safe Driving Program, on Nov. 3.

In One Instant is an award-winning program dedicated to informing teenagers how to make smart decisions while driving. The presentation consisted of a powerful video on the consequences of reckless driving and a speaker who shared his story.

The Los Angeles Police Department also brought a wrecked car that was involved in a fatal texting while driving accident, to further demonstrate how dangerous distracted driving can be.

The reenactment video began ordinarily, with multiple families starting their days. Then three friends decide to ditch class and get drunk. Despite them all being intoxicated, they made the decision to drive back to school, a decision that would turn out to be fatal.

At their school another group of four, non-intoxicated students are in a car, about to start driving. The video builds anticipation as the music gets louder and the drunk driver is struggling to stay conscious. As he reaches the school, he strikes the side of the other vehicle.

The moment of impact is harsh and graphic, making the situation seem extremely realistic. The disorientation and confusion of the seven teenagers is just as unsettling.

In the video, one teenager from the car that was hit and a teacher standing nearby were killed, and another girl was paralyzed. The teen driver was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In One Instant’s video powerfully showed the various outcomes that can occur when driving intoxicated or distracted. The use of details such as one character’s upcoming birthday and montages of teens in school made the video even more relatable and therefore more effective.

Texting and driving can be just as fatal as when intoxicated. Through interviews with real people who lost a loved one because of texts that read, “lol,” “yeah” or “where you at,” the message of, “No text is worth dying for,” was spread.

After the video, senior Brandon Tapia led the programs’ “Vow to Live” pledge, which was recited by everyone in unison.

Speaker Jesse Santiago then shared his story of drunk driving and how his choices changed his and other people’s lives.

“It’s important to realize that all our choices have greater impact than in our immediate world,” Santiago said.

As the assembly ended, Magnet Coordinator Nicole Bootel echoed In One Instant’s message that people’s actions and mistakes can drastically change lives in just one instant.

“After seeing this video, it called attention to some of my own mistakes,” Bootel said.