The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office booked 11 people on DWI-related charges Friday, Aug. 14, the same day Sheriff Wesley Doolittle's agency launched a weeks-long impaired-driving enforcement campaign that includes the MCSO Woodlands Patrol Division covering The Woodlands area.
The arrests came on Day 1 of the Intoxicated Driver Mobilization, a statewide initiative run in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation that will keep additional deputies on patrol through Monday, Sept. 7, according to Hello Woodlands. The MCSO cited county data showing nearly one in three fatal collisions in Montgomery County involves a driver under the influence.
Friday's 47 total bookings included three felony-level DWI 3rd-or-more arrests, three DWI 2nd-offense charges and five first-offense DWI bookings, two of which also carried open-container violations.
The DWI numbers on the campaign's opening day were lower than recent weekends. The MCSO logged 20 DWI-related arrests among 60 bookings on Sunday, Aug. 9, and 13 DWI arrests among 54 bookings on Saturday, Aug. 8, as we reported earlier.
The Sheriff's Office said in an Aug. 11 campaign announcement that impaired driving remains a major contributor to deadly crashes in the county and that even a small amount of alcohol or drugs can slow reaction time. Additional deputies will remain on patrol in greater numbers through the campaign's end.
The enforcement campaign runs through Monday, Sept. 7.
