A Halloween drunken-driving crackdown netted 404 arrests statewide between Friday night and early Monday morning, the Colorado State Patrol said today.
Troopers and more than 50 local law-enforcement agencies participated in the crackdown.
Four people in Colorado were killed during the four-day period; two of those crashes were alcohol-related, according to troopers.
Alcohol was a factor in 40 percent of the traffic deaths in Colorado last year, accounting for 226 deaths.
Those arrested for drunken driving face jail time, the loss of their driver's license, and fines and court costs as high as $10,000.
Col. Mark Trostel, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, said arresting drunken drivers would be a top priority for the upcoming holiday season.
"If you take the risk, you will get caught," he said in a statement.
During the crackdown, the State Patrol made 104 DUI arrests; Denver police made 64; Colorado Springs police made 33; Aurora made 29; Adams County sheriff's deputies made 14; Lakewood police made 13; Grand Junction police made 10; Jefferson County sheriff's deputies arrested 10; and Rifle police made 10 arrests.
There are really few things out there on our roads more dangerous than drunk drivers. Each year, drunk drivers kill more people that we've lost in Iraq since the beginning of the war. According to the DUI Death Clock, nearly 12,000 Americans have died so far this year alone due to someone's decision to drink and drive.
I commend my brothers and sisters in the participating Denver-area agencies.
Now my next question: How many arrested DUI drivers were illegal aliens driving without licenses or insurance? Of that number, How many were held for deportation?
Since it's the Denver area that we're talking about, I'm betting that the answers are "quite a few" and "not even one". But I'd sure like to be proven wrong on that last one.
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