Police arrested fewer people in the first 10 days of a crackdown on Sacramento-area drunken drivers compared to a similar period last year.
From midnight Dec. 18 through midnight Sunday, officers representing 15 Sacramento County law enforcement agencies reported provisional arrests of at least 264 people for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a dip from 330 DUI arrests during the first 10 days of last year’s winter crackdown on impaired drivers.
During the same time in Placer County, officers representing seven agencies reported arrests of at least 35 people on suspicion of DUI, down from 77 such arrests last year.
No deaths were attributed to a drunken driver in either county during this time.
Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI efforts through out the region in the coming days.
Also, the California Highway Patrol will have increased staffing during the New Year’s weekend.
SACRAMENTO—The California Highway Patrol says 16 people have been killed on state highways over the Christmas holiday weekend so far, the same number of fatalities for the same time period last year.
The number of drunk driving arrests made by the CHP is up, however—to 970 from 824 in 2008.
The figures cover the time period from 6 p.m. Christmas Eve until 6 a.m. Sunday.
Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In 2008, 11,773 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
In California 1,029 were killed on state and local roads driving with a .08 blood alcohol content or higher with another 28,457 injured in alcohol involved collisions.
That is why ‘Avoid the 8-Yolo County’ announced it will be joining with law enforcement across California and the nation until Jan. 3, to take part in the ‘Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest’ crackdown on impaired driving.
Across the state there will be 300 DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints, DUI Task Force operations, and hundreds of local DUI roving patrols in an effort to make this holiday season free from another senseless dunk driving death.
“We continue to see far too many people suffer debilitating injuries and loss of their loved ones as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop,” said Landy Black, chief Davis PD. “To help ensure that this happens, the Avoid the 8 partners are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers. To help, we ask everyone, ‘Report Drunk Drivers. Call 911!’”
Avoid the 8-Yolo County law enforcement agencies will staff officers at a checkpoint in the city of West Sacramento, and two local DUI Patrols in every community in Yolo County. CHP will be staffing 80 percent of all available officers during the 4 Day Christmas and New Years holiday weekends.
In 2008 1,397 individuals were arrested for DUI in Yolo County, there were 11 DUI related deaths with 129 DUI related injuries.
The DUI Enforcement Campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A group of four Elk Grove police officers testified in court about a crash scene that included a badly damaged motorcycle, a motorcyclist lying face down in tree foliage, an Acura crashed through a metal sound wall, and a driver stumbling away from the scene.
The officers described those sights in the Dec. 18 preliminary hearing of Rebecca Vela, a 33-year-old Sacramento woman accused of driving drunk and fatally rear-ending a motorcyclist near Elk Grove Park last spring.
The motorcyclist, 54-year-old Stanley Franklin Spaeth of Sacramento, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the testimony, Sacramento Superior Court Judge James L. Long said there appeared to be enough evidence to prove Vela was guilty, and ordered her to stand trial. She will be arraigned Dec. 31 at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
Elk Grove Police Officer Lance McDaniel said he happened upon the crash site on his way to work on the evening of April 18. During his testimony, he said he must have arrived just moments after the crash.
“People were still exiting their cars (and) walking up toward the scene,” McDaniel said.
He said he saw Spaeth “tangled up in the (downed) tree.” As he described what he said was the most severely injured body he had ever witnessed at a crash scene, a girl in the courtroom audience cried.
After the hearing, a woman who identified herself as Spaeth’s wife said a small group of relatives and friends would decline to comment for this story.
Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Leland Washington also declined to comment.
Elk Grove Police Det. Chad Bluette, who was called to the scene to investigate the accident, said Vela had been driving north between the northbound and southbound lanes of East Stockton Boulevard, then swerved back into the correct lane and rear-ended Spaeth’s motorcycle.
A Sacramento County prosecutor accused of driving while under the influence of alchol last month has been formally charged with DUI, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Deputy District Attorney Ross Huggins allegedly drove with a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit of .08-percent on November 20th. Officers pulled Huggins over after he was driving erradically in downtown Sacramento.
Huggins will be arraigned on December 31st.
A new push to set up more sobriety checkpoints during the holiday season will include the city of Sacramento, where police have had to deal with a high number of drunken-driving deaths and injuries.
“Our whole objective is to let people know that law enforcement is out in full force,” said Chris Murphy, head of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “DUI arrests are higher than they have been since 1993. Anyone with a cell phone is looking for a weaving car. The chances of getting caught are better than ever.”
A record $8 million will be given to 148 law enforcement agencies — up from $5 million — to conduct the most-ever sobriety checkpoints in the state in 2010.
The state plans to make 2010 the “Year of the Checkpoint,” during which 2,500 sobriety checks will be conducted through the year. A total of 250 checkpoints are planned through Jan. 3.
At least eight checkpoints will be in Sacramento County in the next two weeks, Murphy said. A sobriety checkpoint is planned for tonight in the south area near 47th Avenue and Highway 99.
Figures from 2007, the most recent statistics available, show that of cities larger than 250,000 population, Sacramento has the highest rate of traffic death and injury and also the highest rate of death and injury in alcohol-related accidents, the state OTS reports.
The National Transportation Traffic Safety Administration reports that 26 people were killed in drunk-driving accidents in 2008 in Sacramento County, down from 36 deaths in 2007.
The California Highway Patrol reports the number of alcohol-involved injuries also fell, from 1,353 in 2007 to 1,237 in 2008 for the entire county.
“Most of our large cities have significant problems,” Murphy said. “It just so happens that of the top 13 cities, Sacramento was ranked as having more alcohol-related crashes.
“I know the Sacramento Police Department is doing everything they can. They have new grants that were awarded, and they are stepping up the number of checkpoints in 2010. It’s not for lack of effort. They really are working diligently.”
Research indicates that DUI checkpoints are a major contributer to the declines. Also important in cutting drunken driving is the ease of calling 911 and the prevalence of cell phones.
“There are so many people who drive our streets drunk,” Murphy said. “Anyone with a cell phone could report you to law enforcement.”
A woman was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, leading police on a pursuit and crashing into another car after running a red light Saturday night.
The collision happened at the intersection of Mack Road and Stockton Boulevard. A woman and a 10-year-old boy were inside the car that was hit. Police said they were T-boned by the suspected DUI driver while they were driving north on Stockton Boulevard.
Mia Holmes, 41, resisted police when they attempted to detain her, according to Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police. Holmes had an 8-year-old boy in the car with her, though he is not her son. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, said Leong.
The major intersection was closed for about an hour while the scene was investigated.
“Tonight is unfortunately going to represent another five, six people being arrested for drunk driving, with a potential of one person being injured probably this weekend,” said Sacramento police Sgt. David Hargadon. “And this whole thing is preventable.”
With holiday parties in full swing, he said it’s important to not have even one drink if you suspect you’ll be driving during the evening.
By Will Frampton, wframpton@news10.net
Tags: Sacramento DUI
The first two days of the holiday weekend on the roads have gone much like California law enforcement expected — if not worse.
The California Highway Patrol says there were 271 DUI arrests on Wednesday and Thursday nights, up from the 237 during the same period last year.
Knowing there would likely be more people in the mood for parties Friday night, Sacramento Police launched a DUI saturation patrol throughout the city.
An extra 15 police units more than usual were on the streets Friday, focusing heavily on the downtown and midtown areas.
Police were fully expecting a busy night.
“I don’t understand it,” said Sacramento police Sgt. David Hargadon. “I don’t know why the number of arrests go up (during the holidays), but they do. That’s part of our campaign is to get people educated and get them to make wise decisions.”
Friday’s patrol started at 9 p.m., and was scheduled to last until at least 1 a.m. As of 10:30, at least two arrests for DUI were made.
Sacramento PD said they’ll carry out the same patrol Saturday night.
Sacramento police on Tuesday released a surveillance video of a dark-colored sedan in hopes of finding a driver responsible for a hit-and-run crash that led to the death of a 4-year-old boy.
The family of Johnathan Vasquez is meanwhile pleading for the driver of the car involved in Monday morning’s crash to surrender to police.
Vasquez was riding his scooter to the Smythe Academy campus on Northgate Boulevard with his grandmother and older brother when he was struck and dragged by a car. He later died at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Sacramento police are searching for a sedan, possibly a 1995 to 1997 Nissan Maxima. The car may be dark red with a black tinted rear window.
The image of a vehicle possibly involved in the death was captured on a surveillance video south of the accident location.
Police said the boy was hit by the car as it exited the school parking lot.
The car was last seen heading south on Northgate Boulevard.
The driver of the sedan was described only as a man with a dark complexion.
Anyone with information may call Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP or traffic detectives directly at 916-808-6030. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.