DUI crackdown underway

Monday, December 12, 2005

Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print

A DUI accident left Rachel Leffel in a wheelchair.

Anyone on the road between now and January 1, especially at night and early in the morning, is likely to see more police cruisers on the road.

A statewide DUI crackdown is underway.

Rachel Leffel learned a lesson about DUI the hard way. Six years ago, she attended a Christmas Eve party at her parents' house.

More information
	Click here for a web-exclusive story about a ridealong with a Largo DUI enforcement officer. Click here for a story about a program that gives rides home to those who have had too much to drink.

"I felt like a little buzzed, but I didn't feel drunk and I only lived less than one mile away, so I figured I could make it home," Leffel said.

Instead, she smashed into a tree one block away. She suffered a traumatic brain injury, along with numerous broken bones and a crushed pelvis. After six months in the hospital, she's now confined to a wheelchair.

"Even worse, imagine if someone else would have been in the car with me or if I would have injured someone else," Leffel said.

For the next three weeks, Florida law enforcement agencies will conduct regular DUI checkpoints, with more officers on the roads both day and night.

Leffel said that just a couple of drinks can change your life forever.

Police say DUI crashes aren't accidents. They're crimes that can be prevented.