Monterey County prosecutors cracking down on DUI drivers

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office said there’s more than 2,000 DUI cases in the county every year. Many involve serious injuries or even deaths. For those families who’ve lost loved ones, it’s a pain they say is 100 percent preventable.

“We have a cure for drunk driving. Don’t drive impaired,” said Mary Klotzbach.

Klotzbach’s sonwas hit and killed by a drunken driver on Highway 17 in 2001.

“We were driving home and we were hit by an impaired driver who was from Monterey County and Matt was killed,” said Klotzbach.

Now a volunteer for Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, Klotzbach is excitedabout a newgrant that will be usedto help punishDUI offendersby funding a vertical prosecution team that willhandle cases from arrest through sentencing.

“We don’t want people to think that they can just go around and commit these crimes and nothing is going to happen to them. It really needs to be announced out there that we’re present, we’re prepared to take on these kinds of cases,” said Edward Hazel, managing deputy district attorney for Monterey County.

That means if you are arrested after getting behind the wheel drunk, be prepared to face highly specialized and trained prosecutors in the courtroom. Hazel said two prosecutors and one investigator will train in field sobriety tests and drug evaluations.

“It’s always good to have good strong cases to take to court and to ensure that people who commit these kinds of crimes are held accountable to the extent and the level that is permissible and justifiable under the facts and the law,” said Hazel.

It’s all made possibleby a $414,312 grantfrom the California Office of Traffic Safety.Its impact will be abig reliefto Klotzbach andmany other families hurt by DUI drivers.

“I don’t want any other family or anybody to have that experience. It’s a pain that’s beyond comprehension to lose a child,” said Klotzbach.