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Local law enforcement authorities are asking for the public’s help in keeping drunk drivers off the roads after nine fatalities in two accidents in just a week.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia was visibly shaken as he talked about the deadly collisions.
“Longtime employees of the Harris County Sheriff’s office cannot remember a day or a week like we have had in recent time,” Garcia said.
Five people, four adults and one child, were killed in a wrong-way collision Sunday night in northeast Harris County. The driver of a pick-up truck has been charged in those deaths.
Last week, four people were killed when a driver broad-sided their vehicle along Beechnut in west Harris County. That driver ran a red light, was allegedly drunk and has also been charged in the deaths.
“It is those irresponsible people who think that they can still drive after consuming alcoholic beverages that we need everyone’s help with,” Garcia said. “You may know someone, and I ask you to help me keep them off the roads.”
Harris County Sheriff’s Sergeant Susan Cotter has been investigating fatal accidents in the Houston area for almost two decades.
“I never recall us having this many fatalities within a one week time period. In fact, the last time we’ve had this many deceased, five, was in 2002 from one crash.
In 2012, 175 people were killed in drunk driving accidents in Harris County.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia
