BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Bakersfield is on track to surpass last year\u2019s total number of DUI cases \u2014 a trend local officials and grieving families say should serve as a warning before anyone gets behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Angela Wilson knows the consequences all too well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re 50% happy and 50% sad on any given day. As happy as you are, or as much fun as everyone in the family is having at a birthday or a gathering\u2026 we still know someone is missing,\u201d\u00a0Wilson said.<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s 20-year-old son, Timothy Wilson, was killed in 2021 when a drunk driver crashed into the car he was riding in on Brimhall Road.<\/p>\n
As the holidays approach \u2014 and after sitting through the offender\u2019s trial \u2014 she says she began to see a troubling pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of them were repeat offenders \u2014 two or three times, some even more \u2014 who were in there for drinking and driving or a DUI accident,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n
DUI Fatalities Increasing in Bakersfield<\/p>\n
According to Bakersfield Police, DUI-related deaths continue to rise. Last year, the department reported eight DUI fatalities. This year, that number has already climbed to twelve \u2014 with several weeks left in the year.<\/p>\n
When asked why she thinks DUI cases continue to rise, Wilson didn\u2019t hold back:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m disgusted. There need to be harsher laws. I think getting just three years for taking someone\u2019s life \u2014 and in some cases even less \u2014 is not enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police Chief Calls for Stronger Penalties<\/p>\n
Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry says DUI checkpoints were designed to reduce impaired driving, but they\u2019re no longer enough on their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other lever that needs to be pulled \u2014 or at least considered \u2014 is increasing the punishment. It is a serious criminal offense to drink alcohol and get behind the wheel,\u201d\u00a0Terry said.<\/p>\n
A Message Before You Head Out<\/p>\n
As the city heads into one of the busiest times of the year for celebrations \u2014 and DUI arrests \u2014 Wilson hopes her story will remind drivers of what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n
If you plan on drinking, local officials urge you to arrange a safe ride home before ever getting behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Bakersfield is on track to surpass last year\u2019s total number of DUI cases \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-79108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}