Trooper Lucas McArthur of the Minnesota State Patrol, Detroit Lakes district, was named to the 2010 Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) DWI enforcement All-Star team for his efforts to keep state roads safe by arresting 96 impaired drivers in 2009.
McArthur, a three-year veteran of the State Patrol, was named among 30 law enforcement representatives and three prosecutors from the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota. This is the first time McArthur has been named a DWI Enforcer All-Star.
All-Stars were selected based on their total number of DWI arrests made in 2009. This is the third year DPS has recognized law enforcement for exceptional DWI enforcement efforts and the first year with Car-X as a sponsor of the team. The DWI Enforcer All-Stars were presented during pre-game festivities at the Minnesota Twins game July 1.
"Impaired driving remains a huge problem, and we are proud of the service of Trooper McArthur to arrest drunk drivers to keep our roads safe," says Captain Bruce Hentges. Last year in Minnesota, 141 people are killed in alcohol-related crashes and 1,271 were seriously injured. In 2009, more than 32,000 motorists are arrested for DWI -- one in seven Minnesota drivers has a DWI on record. DPS reports each year 75 percent of drinking drivers killed in crashes are also not buckled up.
Hentges adds, DWI enforcement efforts are vital during the summer season when impaired driving activity and alcohol-related fatalities spike. During July, August and September in 2007-2009, alcohol-related crashes accounted for 151 deaths -- representing 30 percent of all alcohol-related deaths for the three-year period.
