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Extra DWI enforcement on St. Patrick's Day weekend
Authorities from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Minnesota State Patrol are announcing extra DWI enforcement during St. Patrick's Day weekend, imploring the public to make safe decisions and stick to them ahead of the holiday.
CHISAGO CITY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities are warning the public to make smart decisions as the Minnesota State Patrol plans to staff extra troopers for DWI enforcement on St. Patrick's Day weekend.
Raw footage of the full news conference, held at Scooter's Pub in Chisago City, can be viewed above.
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Extra DWI enforcement St. Patrick's Day weekend
What they're saying:
The focus of the news conference was to remind those celebrating St. Patrick's Day to do so without jeopardizing their safety or anyone else's.
Office of Traffic Safety Director Michael Hanson said, "If you drive impaired, you will be arrested, and there will be consequences for your choice."
READ MORE: Minnesota sees decrease in DWI arrests during 2024 holiday enforcement
Hanson continued by sharing statistics that showed those consequences.
"Last year, during the St. Patrick's Day holiday, there were 438 impaired driving arrests in that relatively short period of time," Hanson said. "That's far too many bad decisions that were made that affect everybody who is using Minnesota roads at that time. In the last five years, there have been 10 fatal crashes that have occurred on the St. Patrick's Day holiday. We want to eliminate that this year."
Authorities are also asking anyone who witnesses an impaired driver to report them to authorities and to have details such as location, the vehicle's description and what direction it's traveling in ready to be given to dispatchers.
Minnesota State Patrol Lieutenant Mike Lee then spoke about his experience responding to a fatal DWI crash that injured the driver and killed a passenger.
"When I left the scene, I had to go to the hospital to tell the driver his passenger had died, and he was under arrest for criminal vehicular operation," Lt. Lee said. "I later found out that the passenger was his best friend. I immediately felt multiple feelings, feelings of frustration and extreme sadness. Sadness for the family that they wouldn't be able to celebrate birthdays, holidays, precious life moments anymore because of a reckless and preventable decision made by the driver."
READ MORE: DWI map of Minnesota: Search and see where drunk drivers are
Minnesota DWI statistics
Dig deeper:
According to data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, state troopers made 5,694 impaired driving arrests in 2024, 5,785 impaired driving arrests in 2023 and 5,428 impaired driving arrests in 2022.
READ MORE: 1 in 7 Minnesotans have DWI on their record, data show
Lauren Johnson, from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Minnesota, says one out of every seven people in the state has a DWI on their record. Of those people, 40% will go on to drive drunk again.
"Right around the end of 2019, beginning of 2020, we saw a sharp increase, a drastic increase in drunk driving injuries and fatalities," Johnson said.
Johnson says drunk driving injuries and fatalities have spiked 33% in recent years, in part due to pandemic lifestyle changes and increased enforcement.
"This never had to happen," Johnson said. "And these cases and crashes are 100% preventable."
Minnesota's DWI dashboard can be viewed here.
The Source: A news conference held by authorities in Chisago City and past FOX 9 reporting.