16 Arrested for DUI July 4th Weekend

Dover – Despite widespread awareness about sobriety checkpoints planned for the 4th of July holiday weekend, sixteen (16) people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs during the inaugural weekend of the 2009 Checkpoint Strikeforce DUI prevention campaign. Officers statewide conducted six sobriety checkpoints in locations including Wilmington, Harrington, Dover, Milford, Millsboro, and Smyrna. Four more are scheduled to take place the weekend of July 10th.

In addition to the checkpoint DUI arrests, officers issued 2 citations for underage drinking violations, apprehended 4 wanted individuals, made 6 drug arrests, 6 felony arrests, issued 11 seat belt citations, 3 child restraint citations, and 79 citations for various other traffic violations.

Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in at least one of the two fatal crashes which occurred this weekend, according to State Police reports. Three people died as a result of the two crashes, one a motorcyclist, and two as passengers in a vehicle police say failed to remain stopped at a stop sign.

Checkpoint Strikeforce is a regional sobriety checkpoint campaign aimed at arresting DUI offenders, and using high visibility enforcement to deter those who would otherwise choose to drink and drive. The campaign, a six month long effort running through New Year’s Eve, involves setting up weekly DUI checkpoints statewide.