Crime & Safety
DWI No Refusal Weekend In Effect Ahead Of New Years Day
Police, sheriff's deputies, and deputy constables will be out in force over the long New Year's weekend to curb drunk driving incidents.
HOUSTON, TX — Officials with the Harris County Precinct 1 Constables office announced Thursday they will join with other law enforcement agencies in Harris County as part of a multi-agency No Refusal DWI Initiative during the New Years Weekend.
“We want to remind the public that as you go out and celebrate the New Year, that you actually do it in a safe way,” Harris County Pct. 1 Constable Alan Rosen said.
Various agencies, including the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the Houston Police Department were represented at press conference held Friday.
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The initiative begins on Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, and ends Monday, Jan. 1, 2019.
During the final week of 2018, three Houston Police vehicles were hit by drunk drivers. In one of those accidents, two HPD officers were badly burned when they were hit head-on by a drunk driver, who they allegedly tried to flee the scene of the crash.
“Drunk driving and fatalities were the highest in Harris County, and we want to change that distinction,” Rosen said.
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On Dec. 16, 19-year-old Erick Hernandez was arrested charged with intoxication manslaughter after he hit an SUV while driving the wrong way, and killed 23-year-old Taylor Phillips, and injured her mother and 1-year-old son.
Hernandez, who is out on bond, allegedly told investigators he’d been at a bar drinking for six hours before he got behind the wheel.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office charged five bar employees with over serving Hernandez, and for serving alcohol to a minor.
Rosen said reducing the occurrences of similar DWI crashes and fatalities is a community effort.
“Law enforcement can only do so much, so we are asking every bar, restaurant; every establishment that sells alcohol...every person in this community has a duty to make sure that every person who leaves their establishment, do so safely and make sure they are not intoxicated,” Rosen said.
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