HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010_12_27_DUI Winter Mobilization Update
BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT 1601 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA (661) 326-3815 December 27, 2010 Sgt. Melvin Johnson, Bakersfield Police Department Kern AVOID the 18, Coordinator 661.326.3896
mbjohnso@bakersfieldpd.us WINTER HOLIDAY AVOID DUI CAMPAIGN – MONDAY UPDATE 8 DUI Arrests Continue during Winter Mobilization period The Winter Holiday Anti-DUI crackdown has resulted
in the arrest of 3 motorists for DUI at a checkpoint conducted by the Kern AVOID the 18 Task Force overnight at Niles Street and Crestmont Drive. From 12:01 AM Friday December 17, 2010,
through Midnight Sunday December 26, 2010, officers representing Kern County law enforcement agencies have arrested 120 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In 2009, 131DUI arrests occurred during the same ten (10) day time period. Tragically, there have already been five (5) fatal collisions locally, two of which have been confirmed to
be alcohol related. It is not immediately known if alcohol or drugs were factors in the other three fatal collisions. An elderly male involved in a hit and run collision on December
22, is in critical condition in a local hospital, and a six year old boy, who was struck by a vehicle Sunday night was transferred to Madera Children’s hospital with major injuries.
Pedestrians were involved in two of the fatal collisions and in the collision involving the six year old child. This Winter Mobilization period has proven to be one of the deadliest
in recent years for motorists in Kern County. Although the Bakersfield Police Department has been deploying additional staff to combat Drunk Driving during the Winter Mobilization period,
“More must be done,” said Lt. Mitch Willoughby, Traffic Commander, for the Bakersfield Police Department. In response to the growing number of collisions involving pedestrians, additional
officers will be deployed to specifically target drivers and pedestrians that place themselves at risk for these types of collisions. Officers will patrol roadways within the city with
a disproportionate number of these types of collisions and ticket violators, not only during the Winter Mobilization period, but in upcoming months as well. Over the course of the next
several days of the campaign extra DUI Saturation Patrols will continue to be deployed in the cities throughout Kern County. Police, Sheriff and the CHP encourage all motorists to help
make your community safer: Report Drunk Drivers – Call 911. Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration. DUI arrest data collection will continue through New Year’s Weekend, midnight Sunday, January 2, 2011.