MAY 30 2006

Westchester County Prom Safety Initiative May have Saved a Life

Stop-DWI checkpoints and patrols also results in arrests

Stop-DWI website and more on prom safety

 

Westchester County’s “prom patrols” may have saved a life Friday when police officers stopped a party-bound limousine and found a 16-year-old girl passed out and unresponsive due to what turned out to be alcohol poisoning.
County Executive Spano (left) is joined by County Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Belfiore and  Robert Burritt, chief nurse of the Emergency Room at Sound Shore Medical Center, and Dr. Joseph Ponticielo, acting director of the Emergency Department at Sound Shore Medical Center. They discussed the real issues of alcohol poisoning.	The limousine, carrying students to the Fox Lane High School prom, was stopped at about 9 p.m. by officers from the county Department of Public Safety and the New Rochelle Police Department in the vicinity of Davenport Avenue and Gaile Drive, New Rochelle.

The limousine check was part of County Executive Andy Spano’s effort to deter underage drinking, particularly around prom time.

“This is why we do these checks and why I have put such an emphasis on enforcement of our underage drinking laws and why we do our prom patrols,” said Spano. “This girl’s parents probably thought she was safely on the way to a joyous evening with friends. Instead, she might have died. These limousine prom checks will continue.”

The officers discovered the unconscious girl after stopping a 21- passenger limousine to make sure there was no alcohol aboard and that the limousine met safety standards. In addition to the girl, they found four other teenagers showing signs of alcohol impairment.

The assistant principal of Fox Lane High School was notified at the Prom and he responded to the Davenport location. The five youths were brought to Sound Shore Hospital for medical evaluation and their parents/guardians were notified to respond to the hospital. The 16-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, three youths were treated and released to their parents and one youth refused medical treatment while his father was present.

Limousine checks will continue. During the two days of checks last weekend, county and New Rochelle police wrote nearly 200 summonses for various offenses to limousine drivers, owners and companies. Offenses including operating a vehicle without a license, operating a limousine/vehicle without insurance, improperly registered vehicles and other violations.

In addition to the Prom Enforcement Detail, Westchester County Police, county Probation Officers, Yonkers Police and MTA Police officers conducted sobriety checkpoint on the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers on Friday Night.

The checkpoint resulted in eight DWI arrests and two arrest for driving while ability impaired due to Drugs.. Local police departments conducted their own sobriety and prom check as well.
Westchester County has cracked down on Drunk and Drugged Driving over the last few years. Arrest for 2004 were 33 percent higher than in 2003 . Arrest for 2005 were 34 percent higher than for 2004. Arrests for 2006 year to date are up by approximately 15 percent over 2005. County and Local Police Departments are provided with additional funding from the STOP-DWI Program, which uses fines paid by those arrested to fund police overtime.