Hours into 2025, a suspected drunk driver in Murrieta may have already committed the year’s worst gaffe caught by police on video.
Shortly after the new year began, an officer “noticed a vehicle swerving across the roadway and initiated a traffic stop to investigate potential DUI” — or a person suspected of driving under the influence, Murrieta police said in a statement.
During the stop, which was captured on the officer’s body camera, the suspect said he drove a friend home because “I’m the DUI tonight.”
In seeming disbelief, the officer responded: “You’re the DUI tonight?”
“Yes sir,” the driver confirmed.
“Do you mean to say the ‘DD’?” the officer asked, referring to the abbreviation for a designated driver who would remain sober while others imbibed.
The driver paused, apparently at a loss for words, and meekly apologized.
Later in the encounter, the suspect admitted to consuming alcohol and underwent field sobriety tests, police video showed. He nearly fell several times while simultaneously attempting to walk in a straight line and count.
Ultimately, he was arrested for DUI and taken to jail, Murrieta police said.
“Each day in the U.S., around 37 people die in drunk-driving crashes — about one every 39 minutes,” the Police Department said in a statement. “In 2022, alcohol-impaired driving claimed 13,524 lives.”
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