A total of 12 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence over New Year’s weekend, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department, including one person suspected of boating under the influence.
Many of the arrests were made on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007. Four people — three drivers and a boater — were arrested for seemingly drunken behavior, including arguing with a parking kiosk operator, blocking traffic and being seen slumped in the front seat of his car. One was arrested following a traffic accident with an additional charge of possession of marijuana. The boater was arrested for alleged DUI after being stopped for not having a hull number.
On New Year’s Day, police arrested four more people. Two of those people were involved in traffic collisions, including one that resulted in a chase. The suspect was chased by the cabdriver whose car he allegedly hit while the cabdriver’s fare called police from a cell phone. Another person was arrested for allegedly weaving across both lanes and the bicycle lane on upper State Street. Yet another was arrested on suspicion of DUI after being stopped for missing plates. The plates were in the truck; they just had not been attached to the vehicle.
Early in the weekend, two people were arrested, one after an attempt to make a U-turn the wrong way on Gutierrez Street, and the other after an accident which resulted in a chase that ended on McCaw Road.
On New Year’s Eve, police arrested one driver on suspicion of DUI after making a prohibited left turn out of City Lot 10.