SUFFOLK SHERIFF ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF ENHANCED SUMMER DWI ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGN: OPERATION HEAT

SUFFOLK SHERIFF ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF ENHANCED SUMMER DWI ENFORCEMENT CAMPAIGN: OPERATION HEAT

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OVER 60 DWI ARRESTS MADE FROM MEMORIAL DAY TO LABOR DAY INCLUDING LEANDRA’S LAW ARREST

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 7, 2023

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY): Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. recently announced 62 drivers were arrested for impaired driving during the summer STOP DWI campaign, Operation HEAT. All summer long the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office increased DWI patrols and checkpoints, from Huntington to the Hamptons, to keep roadways safe during one of the deadliest times of the year.

“Our Deputy Sheriffs continue to do an incredible job patrolling for impaired drivers. This summer they prevented more than 60 potential tragedies on our roadways and will enforce DWI laws all year long to keep motorists safe. If you don’t drive sober, you will be pulled over,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) found that the number of drunk driving accidents doubled during the summer months compared to all other months combined. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office made 62 DWI arrests, compared to 40 in the same period in 2022. Included in this year’s enhanced DWI enforcement arrests were 10 aggravated DWI charges (the defendant had a BAC of .18 or higher), 9 arrests with prior DWI arrests, and one Leandra's Law arrest. Leandra’s Law (the Child Passenger Protection Act) is a NYS law making it an automatic felony on the first offense to drive drunk with a person 15 or younger inside the vehicle. The law was named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on October 11, 2009, when she was the passenger in a car accident, driven by a driver who was allegedly driving while intoxicated.

For more information, please reach out to Public Information Officer Vicki DiStefano at Victoria.DiStefano@SuffolkCountyNY.gov.

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