There will be extra law enforcement looking for impaired drivers on the state’s road from now through the end of the year. At a press conference today, Amanda Albrecht recounted how her family’s life has changed since Thanksgiving 2006 when her sister Breana was killed after getting behind the wheel while under the influence. Albrecht said, “Breana made one mistake that costed (sic) her life a couple months ago, and for the first time in 15 years, I was mad at her for the ongoing pain my family goes through.” Breana was weeks shy of her 20th birthday when she was killed in a drunk driving crash near Lake Elmo. Breana was going around 100 mph. She was intoxicated, not wearing her seat belt and texting at the time of the crash. Albrecht urged Minnesota drivers: “with the holidays coming up, there will be a lot of parties happening, there are so many options to get home safe these days, please don’t take a chance and if you see someone trying to leave after they’ve been drinking, please stop them, you could save lives.”
The Department of Public Safety says driving while impaired by any substance is illegal and drugged driving incidents are on the rise. During the last five years, 26 people died in drunk driving-related crashes during the holiday DWI extra enforcement period and one of every five deaths on Minnesota roads–or 21%–is drunk driving-related.