Puyallup Police Log Over A Dozen St. Patrick's Day DUIs

PUYALLUP, WA — St. Patrick's Day is the drinking holiday to outdo all others. While most revelers manage to make smart decisions, designate a driver or catch a lift home, those who don't can become a life-threatening problem if they get behind the wheel drunk.

Hoping to catch drunk drivers before disaster strikes, the Puyallup Police Department says it had extra officers out on patrol this weekend for a special St. Patrick's Day DUI emphasis. Now that the holiday is over, the police department says the emphasis patrols served a total of 14 DUIs. Seven were alcohol related, one involved marijuana. Officers also issued five blood search warrants. Two minors were also charged for being in possession of alcohol.

Fortunately, there were no deadly crashes last weekend, but drunk drivers did cause four minor collisions in the Puyallup area. Four other drunk drivers were caught when officers pulled them over for speeding.

In Washington, a DUI is normally charged as a gross misdemeanor, and can be punished with up to 364 days behind bars or a $5,000 fine— just one more reason, officers say, to stay smart, and not get behind the wheel if you've been drinking.