Police Crack Down On Drunken Drivers
More Patrols Planned For New Year's Eve
POSTED: 4:08 pm EST December 30,
2008
UPDATED: 5:50 pm EST December 30,
2008
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BOSTON -- The Massachusetts State Police Department is stepping up patrols for New Year's Eve.NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported that officials hope to keep drunken drivers off the roads, and they say they are fighting it more aggressively than ever before.
Police Step Up Patrols For New Year's Eve"Melanie was 13 years old -- a dancer, soccer, cheerleader. She had a great future, but Melanie's gone because of a drunk driver," said Melanie's grandfather, Ron Bersani.Bersani lost his granddaughter in 2003. Since then he's worked tirelessly to combat drunken driving -- including passing Melanie's Law, which increased penalties for repeat offenders.He fears New Year's Eve and the possibility for more tragedies."Our family has been affected in ways people never know. I would hate to see any family go through this," he said.State police agree. This year they have an additional $700,000 available for enforcement."Thanks to grant funding during this period, the Massachusetts State Police will roll out an additional 410 patrols," said Mark Delany, of the Massachusetts State Police.The efforts have been paying off. So far this year, state police have made 5,004 operating under the influence arrests. That's up 7 percent from last year. There have been 584 OUI crashes -- down 6 percent from last year.
Police Step Up Patrols For New Year's Eve"Melanie was 13 years old -- a dancer, soccer, cheerleader. She had a great future, but Melanie's gone because of a drunk driver," said Melanie's grandfather, Ron Bersani.Bersani lost his granddaughter in 2003. Since then he's worked tirelessly to combat drunken driving -- including passing Melanie's Law, which increased penalties for repeat offenders.He fears New Year's Eve and the possibility for more tragedies."Our family has been affected in ways people never know. I would hate to see any family go through this," he said.State police agree. This year they have an additional $700,000 available for enforcement."Thanks to grant funding during this period, the Massachusetts State Police will roll out an additional 410 patrols," said Mark Delany, of the Massachusetts State Police.The efforts have been paying off. So far this year, state police have made 5,004 operating under the influence arrests. That's up 7 percent from last year. There have been 584 OUI crashes -- down 6 percent from last year. Copyright 2009 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
