Fresno County officials are reporting an increase in intoxication cases as the holiday season approaches

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno County is seeing an increase in DUI cases, and law enforcement leaders are bracing for more impaired drivers as we head into the holidays.

“This is an epidemic. We’re at a point now with DUI, just like we are with fentanyl,” Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittkamp said.

Smittkamp was joined by other county law enforcement officials and a man who lost his entire family in a drunken driving accident.

“Be a good friend, if your friends want to have fun, don’t let them ride, and maybe someone won’t have to live what I live,” said Juan Pulido.

Pulido’s wife and four children, along with two nieces and a nephew, died on Highway 33 near Coaling on New Year’s Day 2021.

The California Highway Patrol said the drunken driver, who also died, was going about 100 miles per hour when he crashed into Pulido’s truck.

“It’s not easy to wake up knowing that you don’t wake up with your family or you don’t come home from work to your family. It wasn’t easy, I couldn’t process it,” Pulido said.

This tragic accident was one of thousands of DSU incidents in Fresno County over the past few years.

In 2022, there were 4,162 DUI cases (misdemeanors and felonies).

Last year there were 5,157 cases.

So far this year, there were already 3,798 DNS in the district, with two months left.

“If you are convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor and you decide to do it again, you can and will be charged with murder if you engage in that behavior and someone is killed,” Smittkamp said.

She urged people to make a plan to have a designated sober driver or use a ride-sharing app like Uber or Lyft before they start drinking.

“There is no excuse. And frankly, if you get arrested for DUI, you’re out of luck. Because you can end your life and then you have to live with it the rest of the way,” said Chief Mindy Casto. of the Fresno Police Department.

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