Even with the lure of green beer and funny plastic hats drawing
some San Benito County residents out in the middle of the week, no
one was arrested for drinking and driving on St. Patrick’s Day,
according to the California Highway Patrol.
Hollister – Even with the lure of green beer and funny plastic hats drawing some San Benito County residents out in the middle of the week, no one was arrested for drinking and driving on St. Patrick’s Day, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Although seven people in the Gilroy area spent portions of the night celebrating the Irish holiday within the confines of the Santa Clara County Jail, Hollister was down from last year’s two drunk driving arrests, said CHP Officer Matt Ramirez.
“(Some) people still aren’t getting the idea they need to stop drinking and driving,” Ramirez said. “But no DUI-related collisions, so we got those guys off the road before they crashed.”
Although the CHP had two or three more officers patrolling the highways than usual because of the notoriety for drinking on St. Patrick’s Day, the reveling doesn’t usually cause too much of a ruckus in this area of the state, Ramirez said.
“There’s a little bit more, but it’s not any big difference,” he said. “It’s about like a Friday or Saturday night. A lot of people still have to get up in the morning and go to work.”
The scene was fairly quiet around Hollister, even considering the green beer flowing from downtown Hollister bars, said Hollister Police spokesman George Ramirez.
Local police didn’t make any drunk driving arrests, either, although patrol officers were busy throughout the night, he said.
“There was nothing major,” he said. “We haven’t had any major incidents on St. Patrick’s Day in the last couple years.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
