NORWALK - Norwalk Sheriff's deputies arrested four people for driving under the influence of alcohol and issued 63 citations during a May 5 checkpoint at Imperial Highway and Paddison Avenue, city officials announced this week.More than 2,100 drivers passed through the checkpoint between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m., authorities said. Deputies screened 109 drivers for sobriety and driver's license violations. Of those, 63 were cited for operating a vehicle unlicensed or while suspended/revoked. "The checkpoint was placed in a location that had the greatest opportunity to serve as a deterrence for drunk and drug-impaired drivers while simultaneously providing a safe area for officers and the public involved with the operation," authorities said. Another checkpoint was held Saturday at Alondra Boulevard east of Studebaker Road. Statistics from that checkpoint were not immediately available. The checkpoints were funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed three lives and resulted in 150 DUI collisions harming 84 of our friends and neighbors," said Carlos Ramos, director of Norwalk Public Safety.

********** Published: June 28, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 11