Around 5 p.m. along Highway 183, Irving Police responded to a serious crash near Beltline Road.
"That victim is probably going to have a broken back,” said Officer Robert Reeves.
Reeves said the driver responsible is suspected of drinking and driving with an open bottle of liquor recovered from the vehicle. It signaled an early start for the department’s DWI unit as they kicked off “Saturation Saturday.”
“If you're driving down a highway tonight, you're probably going to see an Irving police officer on that highway,” said Reeves.
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Along with 23 other North Texas departments, Irving increased patrols Saturday as part of an annual campaign sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, aimed at raising awareness for a problem that continues to increase.
“We want people to think before they get behind that wheel. We don't want their laziness or their arrogance to cause them to get arrested for DWI, to hurt somebody or worse yet kill themselves or someone else,” he said.
“My daughter, she was a beautiful person,” said Leticia Alanis.
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Alanis lost her daughter Pricilla in 2014 when she said the young mother was hit and killed by a drunk driver.
“I can't see her anymore. I can't hug her anymore, so I use my voice to say stop,” said Alanis.
Alanis hopes campaigns like “Saturation Saturday” can save other mothers from suffering her heartbreak.
Year to date, Irving police have made 585 DWI arrests. They've investigated 38 major crashes caused by drunk driving, including 11 deaths. It’s a steep consequence for a split-second decision police hope they can encourage drivers never to make.
“If you hurt somebody, you're going to have to live with that for the rest of your life,” said Reeves.
Police in Fort Worth, Colleyville and McKinney were among the two dozen North Texas departments participating in this year's campaign.
