Police see big jump in DUI arrests with ‘Avoid the 13’ effort in

One fatality reported as 24-year-old Healdsburg man dies
on New Year’s
by PAUL HILKER – Staff Writer
A countywide effort to decrease the number of drunk drivers on
Sonoma County roads during the holidays yielded positive results,
according to police officials, who reported a 58-percent increase
in the number of drivers arrested for driving under the influene of
alcohol.
Thirteen police agencies throughout Sonoma County embarked on a
“maximum enforcement” campaign called “Avoid the 13” between Dec.
12 and New Year’s Eve in an effort to crack down on intoxicated
drivers.
A DUI-related fatality occurred in Healdsburg, just hours into
the New Year, when 24-year-old Jeremiah Gregor of Healdsburg was
killed when he drove off of an embankment near Dry Creek Road in
Healdsburg. Officers found alcoholic beverage containers in his
vehicle and smelled alcohol, according to the California Highway
Patrol.
It was the only DUI-related death in the county during the Avoid
the 13 campaign, according to police.
According to statistics reported by the California Highway
Patrol, statewide DUI arrested were up by arrests went up by six
percent during the 20-day period.
A drastic increase in the number of DUI arrests occurred in
Sonoma County during the Avoid the 13 campaign. There were 188 DUI
arrests made between Dec. 12 and Jan. 31, compared to 119 arrests
made during the same period in 2001 — a 58-percent increase. DUI
related auto accidents also increased durig the three-week campaign
period, from 14 in 2001 to 20 in 2002.
According to Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Mike Steen, coordinator of
the Avoid the 13 campaign in Sonoma County, the campaign was a
great success, despite the substantial increase in arrests.
According to Steen, the increase in numbers is a positive
indication that police are keeping more drunk drivers off of the
roads during the holiday season.
“It worked,” said Steen. “We did what we intended to do.”
This is the first year that Sonoma County police agencies have
been involved in an “avoid” campaign according to CHP Officer Jan
Ford, the coordinator of the campaign in the counties of Sonoma,
Alameda, and San Mateo.
There were no sobriety checkpoints in the Windsor or Healdsburg
areas this year, according Healdsburg Police Chief Susan Jones,
“We had quite a few DUI related accidents,” said Windsor Police
Officer Bill Focha, “but most of them were on the freeway or
involved drivers getting off of the freeway, rather than being
directly in the Town of Windsor.”
A total of 11 DUI arrests were made in Windsor, according to CHP
Officer Shannon King.
In the unincorporated areas of the county, there were seven
arrests made, according to King.
“This is what the campaign is all about,” she said. “The
officers’ increased awareness is ensuring that more intoxicated
people are being kept from getting behind the wheel.”
In Healdsburg, there were seven DUI related arrests, down from
nine last year. “It’s good that people see that there is a
cooperative effort going on between the different police agencies,”
said Jones. “The pro-active approach that Avoid the Thirteen takes
to decreasing the amount of drunk drivers out on the streets
definitely benefits the community.”