Officers plan extra patrols over holiday

Extras patrols aimed at keeping drunken drivers off the roadways will be conducted July 4-5. The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, WSU Police, Pullman and Colfax Police departments and the Washington State Patrol will participate in the extra emphasis patrols.

The patrols are funded by a grant from Washington Traffic Safety Commission and supported by the Spokane County Target Zero Task Force.

In Whitman County, 14 of the 39 traffic deaths from 2006 through 2010 involved an alcohol or drug impaired drivers. More than half of those who died in crashes involving an impaired driver were between the ages of 21 and 30. Ten of the 14 deaths involving an impaired driver were from weekend crashes, between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday.