Coachella Valley DUI Arrests Up This Memorial Day Weekend, CHP Says

Nearly two dozen suspected drunken or drugged drivers were arrested during the Memorial Day weekend in the Coachella Valley, up slightly from last year's tally of 21 DUI arrests, an officer said today.

In addition to the 23 DUI arrests, 11 crashes were reported by the California Highway Patrol in the Coachella Valley from 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Monday, a sharp drop from the 24 collisions tallied last year, CHP Officer Mike Radford said.

No traffic fatalities were reported in the region.

Of the 11 crashes, five were caused by a drunken driver, according to Radford. Last year, two of the 24 reported crashes involved a DUI driver, he said.

The hike in DUI arrests and decrease in crashes are the result of increased enforcement during the holiday weekend, CHP Capt. Laura Quattlebaum said.

– City News Service.