Santa Barbara police officers arrested 25 drivers for DUI-related charges during the past three weeks. Although not individually listed, many of these drivers had blood-alcohol levels substantially higher than the .08 limit. In addition, many of these drivers, when first contacted, denied consuming any alcohol at all.

» At 10 p.m. April 23, police responded to a call of a hit-and-run collision at 100 N. Alisos St. involving a silver Ford Focus. In addition to obtaining the suspect vehicle description, police found a large black plastic wheel-well piece at the scene. Ten minutes later, another traffic collision was reported at Milpas and Cota streets. An officer arrived to find three men pushing a badly damaged silver Ford Focus away from this collision scene. All three men had been drinking and were uncooperative. The owner claimed to be a “victim” until confronted with the fact that the broken plastic piece from the first collision matched his vehicle. A 24-year-old male was arrested for DUI, hit-and-run, driving without a license and having an open container of alcohol when driving. A passenger was arrested for public intoxication.

» At 12:35 a.m. April 24, a 40-year-old male was contacted after driving into a DUI checkpoint at 200 State St. in a 2002 Mercedes. He showed symptoms of alcohol consumption and was arrested for DUI.

» At 12:35 a.m. April 24, a 40-year-old female was contacted after driving into a DUI checkpoint at 200 State St. She had symptoms of alcohol consumption and was arrested for DUI. She had one passenger in her vehicle.

» At 1:32 a.m. April 24, an officer stopped a 21-year-old male in a 2006 BMW at 3000 State St. for making an unsafe turn that cut the officer off. The driver was arrested for DUI and no insurance. There was one passenger in the car.

» At 1:41 a.m. April 25, an officer stopped a 23-year-old female in a 2008 Chevy Impala at 1 E. Gutierrez St. for making an unsafe turn that cut off another officer. She was arrested for DUI.

» At 1:12 p.m. April 27, officers responded to a rollover traffic collision at 2400 block of Garden Street. A 27-year-old female was driving northbound in a 2010 Lexus IS250C when it drifted off the road, hit bushes and a tree and rolled over. She was arrested for DUI of prescription medication.

» At 12:35 a.m. April 29, an officer was patrolling eastbound on Haley Street when she noticed a red Jeep a block ahead driving at a high rate of speed. The officer tried to catch up, the Jeep turned down Garden Street and then to northbound Highway 101, still at a high rate of speed. The officer paced the vehicle at 85 mph on the freeway and stopped it at Arrellaga Street. The driver, a 25-year-old female, was arrested for DUI.

» At 5 p.m. April 29, an officer stopped a 29-year-old male in a white BMW at 500 N. Milpas St. for talking on his cell phone and not wearing a seatbelt. He was driving on a suspended license so his vehicle was impounded. Inside the vehicle was an assortment of narcotics, Xanax, syringes and drug paraphernalia. He was arrested for driving without a license and possession of drugs and paraphernalia.

» At 12:17 a.m. April 30, an officer stopped a 21-year-old male in a 1996 Ford Taurus at 200 E. Carrillo St. for expired registration. He was arrested for DUI. There were four passengers in the vehicle.

» At 1:27 a.m. April 30, an officer saw a 1998 Mitsubishi SUV driving at a high rate of speed on 1 E. Ortega St. It bounced sharply over the dips on Anacapa Street, and again on Santa Barbara Street. It accelerated to an estimated 43 mph, slowed at Garden Street and then rolled through the stop sign without stopping. The officer arrested the driver, a male, for DUI. There were six passengers crowded in the vehicle, including one female lying across the laps of the backseat passengers and a male in the rear cargo area. One passenger was arrested for public intoxication.

» At 3:31 p.m. April 30, an officer responded to Harbor Way on a call of a traffic collision. The 41-year-old male had been traveling eastbound on Shoreline in a Ford F-150 truck when he ran off the road, hit the curb, a fire hydrant and a light pole. His truck sustained major front-end damage. The driver was arrested for DUI prescription drugs.

» At 12:17 a.m. May 1, an officer saw an intoxicated couple walk out of Velvet Jones bar and into City Lot 10. Busy with other activity, he was unable to stop or contact them as they got into a 2006 Nissan Altima and drove out toward Ortega Street. Another officer arrived in time to stop the vehicle as it turned from Ortega to southbound on Anacapa Street. The driver, a 24-year-old male, was arrested for DUI.

» At 2:12 a.m. May 1, an officer responded to an injury collision at State and Calle Real. A white Mercedes had been rear-ended by a white Jeep. The driver and passenger of the Mercedes went to the hospital for treatment. The driver of the Jeep, a 47-year-old male, was arrested for felony DUI for causing injuries.

» At 2:20 a.m. May 1, while investigating the above injury collision at State and Calle Real, officers saw a man in a black Ford pickup arrive on the scene. The driver, who had pronounced difficulty parking, got out and started taking photos of the damaged vehicles. Police and firefighters noticed the man looked intoxicated. An officer conducted a DUI investigation. The man, a 55-year-old male, responded to the collision scene because his son was a passenger in the black Mercedes that was rear-ended by the drunken driver. Ironically, the man himself was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 11:18 p.m. May 1, an officer responded to a traffic collision at 900 E. Cota St. A 2004 Honda driven by a female had crashed into a parked 2007 Chevy SUV. She said she was driving while on the cell phone when she crashed into the parked vehicle. She was arrested for DUI.

» At 2:25 a.m. May 2, an officer stopped a 33-year-old male in a black Honda at 1200 San Miguel for weaving and driving on the wrong side of the road. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 3:14 a.m. May 2, an officer responded to a call of a vehicle blocking the intersection of Micheltorena and Olive streets. He found a maroon F-150 pickup stopped in the middle of the intersection with the lights on. Slumped awkwardly in the driver’s seat was a 50-year-old male. He had apparently passed out in the midst of driving. He was awakened but was noticeably groggy. He was arrested for DUI. Inside the vehicle was an assortment of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and hashish. Several drug and paraphernalia possession charges were added to the DUI.

» At 1:01 a.m. May 7, an officer stopped a 36-year-old male in a Mercedes for running a red light and speeding at State and Gutierrez streets. He was arrested for DUI. He had one passenger in his vehicle.

» At 1 p.m. May 2, an officer assisted at a traffic collision at the Milpas roundabout. He contacted a 51-year-old female who had crashed a 1998 Ford Escort. She was arrested for: DUI prescription drugs, suspended license and no insurance.

» At 11:56 p.m. May 6, an officer stopped a 57-year-old male in a 1987 Volvo in the industrial area of Garden Street because a tail light was out. The driver was arrested for DUI, suspended license, being an addict driving, possession of drug paraphernalia and no insurance.

» At 1:41 a.m. May 7, an officer saw a 2000 Jeep driving westbound on Canon Perdido from Chapala Street at an unsafe speed. Before the officer could catch up, the vehicle turned the wrong way on Castillo Street. The driver stopped, made a U-turn and drove down Castillo Street at high speed. The vehicle hit the dip on De la Guerra Street hard enough for sparks to fly from the undercarriage. The officer stopped the vehicle at 600 Castillo St. and arrested the driver, a 31-year-old male for DUI.

» At 1:47 a.m. May 2, an officer stopped a male driver in a 2000 Nissan Frontier for doing a “burn-out” of his tires on Fig Avenue. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 12:15 a.m. May 8, a 29-year-old female drove into a DUI checkpoint at 400 Chapala St. in a 2009 Toyota. She showed signs of alcohol consumption and was arrested for DUI.

» At 7:39 p.m. May 7, an off-duty Harbor Patrol officer called police to report that her friends were detaining an impaired driver next to the Rose Gardens at 2100 Laguna St. An officer found a 37-year-old female seated in a black VW Jetta. Two men prevented her from driving by taking her car keys. The citizens reported that they were playing Bocce Ball on the Rose Garden lawn when the woman drove past in the Jetta. She parked in a red zone, approached the group and started taking pictures of them playing their game. The group took notice of her poor balance and stumbling about.  They took her keys to prevent her from driving away and called police. An officer arrived and conducted a DUI investigation. The woman was arrested for felony DUI because she was on probation for felony DUI, suspended license and no insurance.

» At 12:30 a.m. May 8, an officer spotted a gold Lincoln speeding and swerving at 1000 E. Montecito St. He stopped the vehicle and contacted the driver, a 43-year-old female. She didn’t have her identification and gave her sister’s name instead of her own. The officer assisted and conducted a DUI investigation. The driver was arrested for DUI and booked at the county jail under the false name. As part of the booking process, she was fingerprinted. Within minutes, the woman’s true identity was determined. In addition to DUI, the woman is facing charges of driving on a suspended license and a felony charge of false impersonation.

— Paul McCaffrey is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.