A DUI driver during a field sobriety test in Newtown earlier this year.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Police officers from Newtown Borough and Newtown Township will be among 18 law enforcers hitting the streets of Central Bucks County during a St. Patrick’s Day checkpoint.
The Middletown officers will join their colleagues from Bensalem, Middletown, Quakertown, Warminster and Warrington; and the Pennridge Regional Police Department during the checkpoint along Route 611 in Warrington from 10 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday.
Motorists in both directions of travel will be stopped and observed for signs of impairment. Those drivers who appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be subjected to field sobriety tests and possibly arrest, authorities said.
PennDOT recorded 53 alcohol-related crashes last St. Patrick’s Day across the state and 1,210 crashes with 13 deaths in the weekends surrounding the holiday, PennDOT data showed.
Last year, police from around the county conducted a similar DUI checkpoint on the Newtown Bypass in Newtown Township. Three hundred vehicles were contacted and five people were arrested, the district attorney’s office said.
“St. Patrick’s Day has become a day to share good cheer with family and friends,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “Remember: Have fun, but don’t drink or do drugs and drive. Be safe.”
