New Year's Eve impaired drivers kept first responders busy in Portland and Vancouver
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — First responders in Vancouver were kept busy on New Year's Eve due to a spike in impaired drivers.
Nationally, New Year's Eve is historically the most dangerous day to be on the road. That's because the average number of people killed due to alcohol-related crashes increases by 50%, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For Vancouver resident Jerry Sutherland, the New Year started with a bang.
"We just heard a big noise, and they hit the house," Sutherland said.
Sutherland, 80, and his wife woke up around 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a car struck their home near Northeast 138th Avenue.
"Of course, I'm a little bit upset," he said.
"The impaired driver was excessively speeding, missed the roundabout, and ended up crashing into a street light pole, a traffic sign, and then eventually the house on the corner," said Officer Sean Donaldson, with the Vancouver Police Department's Traffic Unit.
Donaldson said the crash that struck Sutherland's home was one of 12 DUI arrests that happened overnight, a huge increase from the year before. During 2023's New Year's Eve, there were only two DUI arrests.
Vancouver police said there was also an increase in the number of crashes on New Year's Eve this year — six — compared to zero in 2023.
Overall this year, the total number of DUI arrests in Vancouver has actually decreased from 474 in 2023 to 452 in 2024, police said. However, Donaldson said Vancouver saw the highest number of deadly crashes and traffic investigations ever recorded in 2024.
Across the Columbia River, in Portland, residents also saw the fallout from New Year's Eve crashes. Rick Graves, a spokesperson for Portland Fire and Rescue, told KOIN 6 News they were called to six crashes overnight.
"My gut hunch seems to think that's not a bad night," Graves said.
Graves hopes the relatively low number of crashes for what is considered a highly dangerous night on the road means more people will choose to engage in responsible driving in 2025.
"When you take the choice to get behind the wheel and you've been impaired you not only endanger yourself, but tragically you endanger everybody around you, and that doesn't just mean an individual, you can crash into, well, a home, for instance," Graves said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists alternative transportation options to avoid impaired driving, which include for-profit rideshare services, nonprofit safe ride programs and public transportation options like buses or trains.