Neighbor News
OC DUI Arrests on the Rise - Fatalities Down
Law enforcement are cracking down on drunk drivers across the state resulting in increased DUI arrests and decreased accidents in the OC.
Car accident and drunk driving crashes are seemingly constant in the news in California, and Orange County is no exception. This last Monday, February 8th, a woman from Fullerton was accused of driving under the influence which caused a two car pile up that threw two of her passengers out of the vehicle. This crash caused serious injuries to the passengers when Kathia Rodriguez, who is just 19, swerved recklessly in her 2004 Ford Explorer.
The SUV overturned and then ran into another vehicle in a different lane. The passengers in Rodriguez’ vehicle were a man and a woman both 19 years old. Both were ejected from the vehicle and landed on the Coast Highway. A 10-year-old girl was also in the Explorer and suffered minor injuries. The driver or the struck vehicle was a 56-year-old-woman from Portland, OR and although she went to the hospital, she is expected to survive her injuries.
Although these sorts of drunk driving crashes are commonplace in Southern California, they are actually on the decline as law enforcement starts to crack down. According to NBC San Diego, the 2015 holiday season saw more DUI arrests than the previous, year up to 608 from 565 in 2014 according to CHP. Fatalities are also down from 18 in 2014, to 14 in 2015. In Orange County alone, there were 33 DUI arrests and no fatalities for the 2014 or 2015 holiday season.
Find out what's happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In 2010, Orange County was among the worst counties in the state for alcohol related crashes and injuries with Newport Beach and Orange having the highest rates in the state of crashes with a drunk driver. Since then, law enforcement has been cracking down on DUI arrests to curb this dangerous situation. Orange County is known for fatal or serious accident injuries. According to the Orange County personal injury lawyers of Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP, who have handled hundreds of car accident and drunk driving related crashes, there are certain streets in the area known for dangerous accidents. These include: local freeways, Cypress surface streets, Villa Park and Chapman, Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana, and southern Magnolia and Brookhurst in Huntington Beach.
While the increase in DUI arrests may seem like a negative occurrence, it’s actually a sign of diligent police work and successful efforts to keep drunk drivers off the road. The decrease in serious injury or fatal accidents is a sign the crackdown is working and hopefully the downward trend will continue to keep our roadways safe.
