From WBIR
In an ongoing effort to crack down on drunk driving in the Great Smoky Mountains National park, rangers have made several DUI and public intoxication arrests in the park over the past few weeks.
Rangers conducted two sobriety checkpoints and four special “saturation” road patrols during a two week period. Those efforts resulted in 7 DUI arrests, 3 public intoxication arrests, and the issuance of 36 citations and 66 warnings of various nature.
Chief Ranger Clayton Jordan said, “Alcohol-related accidents and
fatalities continue to be a serious problem in the Park. In 2010, 75 people were charged with DUI offenses in the Park. In 11 of them, the driver was involved in a crash prior to being charged. We also had two fatal accidents that involved alcohol. That’s significant.”
During one of the sobriety checkpoints on the Foothills Parkway in Blount County, a Park Ranger observed a male driver throwing a beer can out of the car window as he approached the checkpoint…..MORE