Welcome to Skagit County

December 13th, 2011

"Night of 1,000 Stars" DUI Emphasis Patrol

SKAGIT COUNTY - On Friday, December 16, 2011, officers from seven law enforcement agencies in Skagit County will join their counterparts throughout the state to participate in the annual "Night of 1,000 Stars" DUI emphasis patrol. This statewide campaign will target drinking drivers in an effort to reduce the deaths caused by those driving under the influence of alcohol.

Last year, 188 people died on Washington's roadways in crashes caused by someone who had been drinking; between 2006 and 2010, the total adds up to 1,191 deaths. For these reasons, officers from the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Anacortes, Burlington, Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley, and Swinomish

Police Departments are teaming up with troopers from the Washington State Patrol in a campaign to find and arrest people who are driving under the influence.

The annual "Night of 1,000 Stars" is just one element in a statewide campaign to eliminate drinking and driving - a cooperative law enforcement effort that began on the weekend of Thanksgiving and will continue throughout the Holiday Season. All of these efforts are part of Washington's Strategic Highway Safety Plan to reduce traffic deaths to zero by the year 2030.

The Skagit County Law Enforcement Task Force organizes and supports this multi-agency enforcement effort, and urges everyone to do whatever necessary to prevent drinking and driving.

For more information, contact Don McKeehen, Skagit County Public Works, at (360) 419-3463.