Police: Alcohol tied to half of fatal crashes
From Staff Reports February 8, 2013 12:48PM
Updated: March 11, 2013 6:43AM
Nearly half of all fatal traffic crashed investigated during 2012 by Illinois State Police District 5 troopers involved alcohol showed year-end statistics released by State Police District 5 Commander Bridget Bertrand.
District 5, headquarters in Lockport, includes the counties of Grundy, Kendall and Will.
During 2012, District 5 handled 39,261 incidents.
These activities were reported for the district:
295 drivers arrested for driving under the influence
50 underage drinking arrests
7,541 speeding citations
2,501 seat-belt citations
210 distracted driving arrests
512 criminal arrests
3,215 commercial motor vehicles inspected
1,272 commercial motor vehicles and/or drivers placed out-of-service for safety violations
5,102 motorist assists
18,256 total citations
10,634 total Fatal 4 citations (DUI, speed, seat-belt, distracted driving)
Troopers handled 2,292 crashes. Districtwide, there were 57 fatal crashes that killed 60 people.
Of the 60 fatalities, 31 percent were not wearing a seat belt.
Alcohol was a factor in 27, or 47 percent, of the fatal crashes.
During 2012, District troopers seized $215,000, approximately 975 pounds of marijuana and 21 kilos of cocaine.
“These seizures illustrate how routine traffic stops for traffic offenses can lead to a major arrest,” Bertrand said.
