45 arrested for DUI during holiday checkpoints, patrols

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010 | 10:01 a.m.

A collaborative law enforcement effort to remove impaired drivers from Southern Nevada roadways during the Labor Day weekend resulted in 45 arrests for drunken driving, authorities said.

The arrests stem from four sobriety checkpoints throughout the Las Vegas Valley as well as saturation patrols.

Authorities from the Nevada Highway Patrol, and the Metro, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City and Mesquite police departments worked together, in addition to officers from the National Park Service and Lincoln and Nye counties, officials said.

Of the four sobriety checkpoints — one in Henderson, one in North Las Vegas and two in Metro's jurisdiction — the location at Charleston and Jones boulevards netted the most drunken driving arrests, with 16. Police operated all four checkpoints from 7 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday.

Authorities still were calculating the total number of drivers who passed through the sobriety checkpoints, but they said 120 drivers were given sobriety tests.

During that time period, police also arrested two juveniles, cited one person for drunken driving and cited seven others for other charges not related to drunken driving, officials said.

Labor Day weekend is the second deadliest holiday for motorists, officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week.

At a press conference to announce the effort last week, John Johansen from the state Office of Traffic Safety said there were 144 traffic fatalities in Clark County last year. Of those, 72 were alcohol-related deaths, he said.