Bonney Lake Police Begin St. Patrick's Day DUI Patrols

BONNEY LAKE, WA — St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and while everyone is welcome to celebrate, Bonney Lake police want to make sure drivers make smart choices on the roads.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 280 Americans were killed in drunk driving crashes on St. Patrick's Day weekends from 2015 to 2019. In 2019 alone, 57 were killed.

Here in Washington, the last Saint Patrick's Day weekend five people were killed, and 21 were seriously injured in car crashes — though only one death and three of those injuries involved a drunk driver.

To keep everyone safe and tamp down on drunk driving, Bonney Lake police have announced they'll have extra officers out on the roads from March 13 through 18 as well as the following few weekends, trying to catch any DUI drivers. Police say they hope the extra presence will remind drivers to make the smart decision to either designate a sober driver, or order a ride home.