Santa Clara Sheriff Warns Drivers Against DUIs
SAN JOSE (KCBS) – Almost a third of all traffic fatalities in California are alcohol related, and now law enforcement agencies around the Bay Area are aiming to raise awareness on the dangers of drunk driving on this National Crime Victim's Rights Week.
KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:
In Santa Clara County alone about 200 people are seriously injured or killed by drunk drivers annually. Sandra Cisneros and Elisa Verdugo experienced that fact firsthand. Their teenaged sons were killed in a drunk driving related crash in San Jose.
"Every day I wake up and don't see my son it's really, really difficult," said Cisneros.
"We wake up with a hole in our hearts and I just hope for harsher punishment so that people know the seriousness of the crime and that there's going to be serious consequences for their choices," said Verdugo.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said that deaths and injuries that are a result of drunk driving are completely preventable.
"You never know when you get behind the wheel if you're impaired if you're going to kill somebody," said Smith. "Just don't take that chance, don't drink and drive."
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