03/28/2024
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The south is the deadliest region for drunk driving: 7 of the 12 states with the highest Driving While Impaired (DWI) death rates belong to the southern region, according to backgroundchecks.org. The highest-ranking states for drunk driving deaths are South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina.

A driver can be charged with a DWI (Driving While Impaired) after failing a field sobriety test.

Mark Gillespie, with the ABC Store in Elizabethtown, reported an increase in alcohol sales since COVID-19 (coronavirus) hit the state. Along with an increase in liquor sales, local law enforcement confirmed an increase in DWI charges since COVID-19 Pandemic hit Bladen County.

On Monday with the temps soaring local law enforcement officers with the Bladenboro Police Department and the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office staged the Booze It and Lose It Forensic Testing Bus in Bladenboro. Shane C. Todd, BAT Program Coordinator Division of Public Health, Forensic Tests For Alchohol Branch with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, explained the Forensic Test for Alcohol (FTA) is taken careful measures in assuring the war on COVID-19 (coronavirus) is addressed, during the Booze It and Lose It events.

According to Todd, safety shields have been installed, and the bus receives sanitation services before and after every event. Officers and offenders entering the unit are temp checked and required to wear face coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

During Monday’s Booze It and Lose It event in Bladenboro, a few citations and a simple drug charge were written, according to Todd.

*FTA information was corrected, as incorrect information was stated previously*

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