Former Rare Staff
When it comes to being hit by drunk drivers, the California Highway Patrol has had more enough.
Videos by Rare
Drivers under the influence have taken a heavy toll on the agency, who wrote in a Facebook post that they’ve had five officers hit by impaired drivers in the past month alone. The agency announced the launch of an “anti-DUI campaign.”
“Out of the last five collisions involving CHP vehicles in the San Francisco Bay Area, three were DUI related,” they went on to explain. “These DUI related crashes resulted in the fatal injury to CHP Officer Andrew Camilleri and injuries ranging from minor to moderate to three other CHP officers.”
“All of the collisions could have been prevented through responsible driving by the motorists,” criticized Golden Gate Division Chief, Ernie Sanchez.
To give a visual representation, the agency released video from a 2016 crash.
Officers are seen addressing someone on the side of a busy highway just before a vehicle careens into their direction. At least one of the officers is thrown dangerously close to the barrier when the out-of-control vehicle hits the one they were near. The other scrambles to safety just in time.
The vehicle spun briefly, hitting several other cars near it. It then stopped, facing oncoming traffic.
Sanchez emphasized the point by explaining how severely the agency has been impacted by irresponsibility:
The CHP has lost one officer, another is in the hospital with two broken legs, and two others have been sent to the hospital, all because some drivers chose to be irresponsible. It is not common that the Chiefs and command staff go out on patrol to arrest impaired drivers, but we intend to do just that. Enough is enough! The CHP’s core mission is to save lives and prevent injuries and we intend to do just that.
