Students at an Oceanside, Calif., high school were falsely informed by California Highway Patrol officers that some of their classmates were killed in drunk-driving crashes as part of a prevention program, the North Country Times reported June 15.

The grim news was delivered in about 20 classrooms at El Camino High School on a recent Monday morning, sending some students into hysterics about the loss of their friends. Hours later, teachers told the students that the news had been a hoax designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Students reacted angrily. "People started yelling at the teacher," said Michelle de Gracia, 16. "It was pretty hectic." At a later assembly on drunk driving, some students held up signs reading, "Death is real. Don't play with our emotions."

"You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust," said Carolyn Magos, 15. "But then I felt selfish for feeling that way, because, I mean, if it saves one life it's worth it."

"They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized," said guidance counselor Lori Tauber. "That's how they get the message."

The Oceanside stunt was similar to a curriculum authored by a group called the Every 15 Minutes Organization, in which students volunteer to portray drunk-driving victims, have their obituaries read in school, and are pulled from classrooms by an individual dressed as the Grim Reaper. Later, the "dead" students appear in ghoulish makeup to take part in assemblies on drunk driving.

Dean Wilson, executive director of Every 15 Minutes, said he didn't endorse the Oceanside hoax.

"We did this in earnest," said Oceanside schools Superintendent Larry Perondi. "This was not done to be a prankster."