DUI checkpoint yields 34 arrests

A Utah Highway Patrol checkpoint set up Friday night to prevent driving under the influence in Wendover resulted in 516 stops, 12 DUI arrests and 22 drug-related arrests, UHP officials said.

In the event troopers are calling "successful," law enforcement also issued 38 citations and 137 warnings, said UHP Sgt. Ted Tingey.

A total of 40 police officers from the UHP, Tooele County Sheriff's Office and Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division took part in the event that ran from 10 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday. Officers worked at the checkpoint, located at the point of entry for I-80 east, and patrolled the roadway "throughout the night looking for impaired drivers," Tingey said.

In addition to making arrests and issuing citations, police impounded 15 vehicles after their drivers proved to be too intoxicated to continue driving. Tingey said this part of the process is often "what hurts a lot of people" as it takes "hefty fines" to get the cars returned, and it deprives the passengers of their transportation means.

Thirteen of the vehicles stopped contained intoxicated passengers but had designated drivers, Tingey said. Police found five open-container violations and performed 28 field sobriety tests.

— Emiley Morgan