Troopers were busy removing impaired drivers off the highways Wednesday morning, according to the Washington State Patrol press release.
In King County alone, troopers apprehended four impaired drivers between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The DUI arrests consisted of one alcohol-impaired driver and three drug-impaired drivers.
One of the arrests occurred on the Benson Highway near Southeast 208th Street in Kent.
At approximately 6:50 a.m., a repeat DUI offender pulled out of a parking lot and hit a school bus northbound on the Benson Highway, according to the State Patrol. The bus was not carrying any children and the driver was not injured.
The suspect, a 49-year-old Kent man, was treated for minor injuries and was arrested for DUI, according to the State Patrol. All the northbound lanes of the Benson Highway were closed for about one hour while crews removed the vehicles.
At approximately 7:50 a.m., an impaired driver was stopped by a trooper for speeding through a congested 20 mph school zone on State Route 203 near Tolt Middle School in Carnation. The driver, a 26-year-old Issaquah man, was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana, according to the State Patrol.
At approximately 9:50 a.m., multiple citizens called 911 to report an erratic vehicle northbound on State Route 169 through Maple Valley, according to the State Patrol. Troopers and King County Sheriff’s Deputies stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, a 24-year-old Kent man, for driving under the influence of drugs and reckless driving. This was the suspect’s second DUI arrest.
Last year, the national Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program began teaching Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) classes to troopers and officers all over the country to help combat drug-impaired driving, according to the press release.
ARIDE is a class designed for law enforcement officers to be more proficient at detecting, apprehending, testing and prosecuting impaired drivers who are impaired by more than just alcohol.
All of the DUI arrests Wednesday morning were made by troopers with DRE or ARIDE training.
