The California Highway Patrol’s Newhall-area Office issued 921 citations for speeding and other misdemeanors, including reckless driving, and arrested 17 people on suspicion of driving under the influence during the Fourth of July weekend.
The special enforcement period for the long Independence Day weekend began on Thursday at 6 p.m. and ended Sunday morning at 6 a.m., according to CHP Newhall-area Office Public Information Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez.
Within that period, 28 of those citations were for people speeding over 100 mph, and 320 were for speeding under 100 mph, he said. Many of those citations also had other charges, including reckless driving, tailgating and other safety violations.
Those citations and arrests took place across Interstate 5, State Route 14, SR 126, SR 138, as well as I-210 and SR 118 in areas of the San Fernando Valley that are also patrolled by the Newhall-area office.
According to a post on Instagram, CHP Newhall officers stopped one driver going as fast as 112 mph, and another was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence with a recorded 0.345 blood alcohol content, which is more than four times the legal limit.
Officers were also able to confiscate a set of illegal fireworks after a DUI arrest during the weekend.
“Over the holiday weekend the CHP Newhall-area officers were out in force making arrests, stopping dangerous drivers, and keeping (the) roads safe,” the CHP Newhall post read.
No fatal crashes were reported during the enforcement period, Burgos-Lopez said, and advised the public to follow traffic laws at all times.
“We’re out there to slow people down, make sure that people are practicing safe driving. We always encourage everybody to follow all traffic laws that way they can make it to where they’re going and where they’re coming from,” he said on Tuesday during a brief phone call.
