State Patrol Ramping Up DWI Enforcement During Holiday Season

The Minnesota State Patrol is ramping up DWI enforcement beginning tomorrow and lasting through New Year’s Eve.

The campaign includes more than 300 law enforcement agencies across the state and will include extra patrols on the road during this time period. During the last five years, 26 people have died in drunk driving-related crashes during the holiday DWI extra enforcement period.

On Tuesday, Minnesota Public Safety officials kicked off the extra enforcement campaign at the gravesite of a 19-year-old woman who died while driving drunk. 15 years ago, Breanna Remer crashed her vehicle near Lake Elmo. She was driving around 100 miles per hour while texting at the time. Her blood alcohol level was 0.13, and she was not wearing a seatbelt.

Safety officials say one out of every five deaths on Minnesota roads is drunk driving-related.