Clearfield, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Mifflin County District Attorney's Office, Mifflin County DUI Task Force, and Highway Safety Network held a press conference at the Mifflin County Courthouse today where they urged constituents to drive sober over the Saint Patrick's Day holiday weekend.
"Almost 25 percent of the criminal cases my office has prosecuted over the past four years are DUI related," said Mifflin County District Attorney Christopher Torquato. "It's incredibly disheartening to see when DUI is easily preventable by planning ahead and designating a sober driver."
Torquato discussed Act 59 of 2022, also known as "Deana's Law," and explained that the legislation increased the grading for certain DUI offenses, requires consecutive sentencing for certain repeat DUI offenders, and imposes an 18-month driving privilege suspension for a DUI conviction graded as a felony of the second degree. He said that a third DUI offense is now a felony of the third-degree, punishable by up to seven years in prison in some circumstances, and that a fourth DUI offense is now a felony of the second degree, punishable by up to 10 years in prison under certain circumstances. He said the law also provides for a sentencing enhancement in some cases where an individual has four or more prior DUI offenses.
Officer Nick Hamler of the Granville Township Police Department noted that officers from the Mifflin County DUI Task Force, which is comprised of his department, Armagh Township, Lewistown, and Mifflin County Regional police departments, have seen an uptick in the number of DUI arrests made since November. In most cases, impairment is from a combination of drug and alcohol impairment.
Hamler said the task force plans to conduct high visibility enforcement details including roving patrols and sobriety checkpoints during the St. Patrick's Day Impaired Driving Enforcement Mobilization. That mobilization starts tomorrow and continues through Sunday, March 19. He said officers will offer zero tolerance to impaired drivers encountered during these enforcement details and that offenders will be arrested and prosecuted.
According to preliminary 2022 PennDOT data, there were 313 crashes involving an impaired driver in Pennsylvania between Friday, March 11, and 6:00 AM Sunday, March 20. There were four fatalities in those crashes.
For more information on the dangers and consequences of impaired driving, visit www.penndot.pa.gov/safety and https://padui.org/.
For regional traffic updates, follow www.twitter.com/511PAStateCOLL.
Contact: Timothy Nebgen, tnebgen@pa.gov or 814-765-0598
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