Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 4, 1994 TAG: 9407040056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
The arrests were made between 9 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday on Virginia 24 in Stewartsville.
Five of those arrested had a blood-alcohol level of .08 or .09, which would have been legal before the new legislation went into effect at midnight Friday.
Police also impounded the cars of two drivers who were driving with licenses that had been suspended for alcohol-related violations. Under the new law, the car of anyone caught driving with a license suspended for an alcohol-related offense will be impounded for 30 days. The courts can then impound the cars for an additional 90 days.
Two more drivers were arrested for possession of marijuana.
The checkpoint was set up as part of National Sobriety Checkpoint Week, June 28 through July 4, and was funded by grants from the Federal Highway Commission. Local businesses and organizations such as the Smith Mountain Lake chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and Famous Anthony's restaurants assisted officers and gave information to drivers stopped at the checkpoint.
State police Sgt. Hayward F. Wray, who was in charge of the Bedford County checkpoint, called it "very successful" and said he hoped it contributed to fewer deaths this holiday weekend.
As of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, five people died in automobile accidents in Virginia during the holiday weekend, including a 3-month-old baby boy from New York who was thrown from a car after it hit a guardrail in Mecklenberg County. The rest died in New Kent County, Buckingham County, Sussex County and Appomattox. State police could not say immediately whether any of the deaths were alcohol-related.
Last year, 11 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes on Virginia highways during the Fourth of July weekend.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB