COAST CITIES — A total of 21 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on North County-area freeways and rural roads over the Fourth of July weekend, three more than last year, a Highway Patrol spokesperson said July 6.
Despite the slight rise in DUI arrests by the California Highway Patrol in the North County, there were no traffic fatalities on CHP-monitored roadways during the holiday weekend throughout the San Diego-area, Officer Eric Newbury said.
Countywide, the CHP made 88 DUI arrests, 66 fewer than last year, according to the Highway Patrol.
In addition to the Highway Patrol’s maximum enforcement period, which ran from 6 p.m. July 3 through midnight July 5 and assigned 80 percent of its available officers to local regions freeways and unincorporated roads, North County law enforcement agencies also staffed extra DUI patrols for the Fourth of July weekend.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department arrested 13 people suspected of driving under the influence, according to crime analysts at the Sheriff’s Department. Deputies in Encinitas, San Marcos and Vista each recorded four DUI arrests over the holiday weekend, while sheriff’s deputies in Solana Beach made one arrest of an impaired bicyclist.
Across town, the Carlsbad Police Department made one DUI arrest over the Fourth of July weekend, said Lynn Diamond, a spokeswoman for the department.
And while the holiday DUI numbers weren’t immediately available from the Oceanside Police Department, Sgt. Kelan Poorman noted a traffic accident that alcohol is believed to have played a factor in.
Poorman said a 30-year-old male sustained life-threatening injuries and was life-flighted to a local hospital after being ejected from his vehicle while traveling at a high rate of speed around 3:25 p.m. July 4 just north of the intersection at Lake Boulevard and Evening Canyon.
The man’s identity and condition have not been released by authorities at this time.
Statewide, the CHP recorded 1,239 DUI arrests and 16 fatal traffic accidents this holiday weekend.
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