Police Arrest 212 in DUI Crackdown; 1 Killed

Law enforcement personnel taking part in a countywide holiday-season crackdown on drunken driving booked 212 people on suspicion of DUI offenses in the San Diego area over the last three days, authorities reported Monday.

The arrests—16 more than during the comparable time span last year—occurred between 12:01 a.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to sheriff's officials.

During the same period, a suspected DUI-related traffic accident killed a 49-year-old San Diego man on Interstate 15 in Mira Mesa, Lt. Jose Sanchez said. The single-vehicle crash occurred near Miramar Way shortly before 2:30 a.m. Saturday, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Through Jan. 1, all regularly scheduled traffic and patrol deputies and police officers in the county will focus on stopping and arresting intoxicated drivers, Sanchez said. Also, numerous sobriety checkpoints, multi-agency task- force operations and DUI patrols are slated regionwide during the 17-day campaign, the lieutenant said.

Among those operations will be a "saturation patrol" on Wednesday evening near Qualcomm Stadium in connection with the Poinsettia Bowl college football game and checkpoints in Oceanside and Poway on Friday.

Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

-City News Service