Over 200 people were apprehended for drunk driving during the course of a three-week DUI crackdown this holiday season.

From Dec. 12 to midnight on Jan. 1, officers held sobriety and driver license checkpoints and increased the number of DUI patrols as part of the annual attempt to keep drunk drivers off the road. The 223 total arrests mark a five percent increase from last year in the number of offenders apprehended over the holiday period.

There were two fatal alcohol related crashes during this time period. One occurred Dec. 16 and the other on New Year’s Day. Additionally, three motorists were arrested downtown on New Year’s Day on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

One man was arrested after passing three cars, a police car with its lights on and a city bus in the oncoming traffic lane at a blind corner. He had a 0.09 percent blood alcohol reading and a tequila flask in his possession at the time of the arrest. Another motorist was pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. The third arrest involved a driver with an open bottle of scotch driving between 60 and 80 miles per hour on the city streets.
Staff Report