GAITHERSBURG, Md. (DC News Now) — Dozens of officers are spending the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving on the streets of Montgomery County, working to stop drunk and drug-impaired drivers.
Officials with the Montgomery County Holiday Alcohol Task Force said the night is one of the most dangerous of the year.
The annual effort is intended to make arrests — a preventative measure to stop impaired drivers before a crash or loss of life happens.
Before they hit the streets, Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) officers and a number of officers from partner agencies took part in a roll call briefing. During the briefing, leaders shared recent crash statistics and heard from a man named Miguel, who hit and killed an 18-year-old woman while drunk in 2003.
Miguel told the officers he wished he had the opportunity to get pulled over by them.
“Every single person that gets pulled over by you. You stopped them from doing what I did,” he said.
Miguel told the officers he now has a relationship with the mother of the young woman he killed and called the crash a “lifetime sentence.”
“When you drink and drive and you kill somebody, it’s a lifetime sentence,” he said. “Not just for me, but for our entire family. The day her mother dies, she will be missing our daughter and hoping that she gets to see her. The day I die, I will be thinking of it too.”
The task force will work Wednesday through Saturday overnights until Jan. 11.
During the first week of enforcement, the unit made 29 DUI arrests.
“It’s work that really does save lives and is impactful,” said Sgt. Patrick Kepp. “And while they may not be happy with us that night, on the backend they hopefully realize that decision saved maybe themselves. Or if they don’t think about themselves, somebody else.”
MCPD officials said last year, more than 50% of the fatal collisions in the county involved a substance.
