Riverhead Patch: Suffolk Sheriff Set To Kick Off Enhanced DWI Enforcement This Summer

Lisa Finn, Patch Staff | Link to the Original Article

June 28, 2023:

LONG ISLAND, NY — A Wading River family shattered by grief after their son, Andrew, 12, was killed by a drunk driver in 2018 while out on a hike with his Boy Scout troop, has worked tirelessly to create change so that no other family has to endure that agony. And now, they've teamed up with law enforcement and Mothers Against Drunk Driving to keep Long Island roadways safe this summer.

On Thursday, the McMorris family and MADD are set to join Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon to unveil a Summer STOP DWI campaign, Operation HEAT, which will ramp up already increased efforts that include the highest number of DWI patrols in recent Sheriff’s Office history, Toulon said.

Beginning this July 4 holiday weekend, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office will increase DWI patrols and checkpoints from Huntington to the Hamptons, and continue all summer long to keep Suffolk’s roadways safe "during one of the deadliest times of the year," Toulon said in a release.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office DWI team has already had record high impaired driving arrests this year, with a nearly 40 percent increase in DWI/DUI arrests from 2022, he said.

The National Safety Council estimated that 462 people were killed on the road in July 4 car crashes last year, with excessive alcohol use the cause of 41 percent of those fatalities — the highest among all the major holidays, Toulon said.

In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Association found that the number of drunk driving crashes doubled during the summer months compared to all other months combined, Toulon said.

The Sheriff’s Office’s BAT mobile is a completely self-contained DWI processing center that enables deputy sheriffs to quickly process arrests and maximize time patroling the roads, Toulon said.