{"id":689,"date":"2026-05-24T12:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=689"},"modified":"2026-05-24T12:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:33:25","slug":"memorial-day-weekend-prompts-stepped-up-dui-patrols-as-grieving-mother-urges-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=689","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day weekend prompts stepped-up DUI patrols as grieving mother urges planning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>MESA, AZ \u2014 Mothers Against Drunk Driving says Memorial Day weekend is one of the deadliest periods on the calendar, and the group estimates one-third of holiday crashes nationwide involve drivers who are intoxicated.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=687\">Stephen Colbert returns to Michigan public station after final \u2018Late Night\u2019 show<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mesa police are joining a statewide DUI task force this holiday, part of an effort led by the Arizona Governor\u2019s Office of Highway Safety that will deploy officers from 10 Valley police departments to patrol the East Valley this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>The intensified enforcement comes as Sheila Chacone describes the lasting pain of losing her 35-year-old son, Truman Heinicke, on Memorial Day weekend 2020. Heinicke and another rider were killed when the ATV they were on struck a tree in the hills of Gila County, Chacone said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was just that fast. You never, ever know. It\u2019s just that quick,\u201d Chacone said. \u201cNone of us will ever be the same. I\u2019ll never be the same. I lost our son, our oldest child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chacone, now an active speaker with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, urges people to make plans before they consume alcohol. \u201cHave a plan. Go have a great time. I\u2019m not discouraging that, but have a plan in place before you take that first drink. Who\u2019s driving?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=685\">WATCH: Great Dane groups bring dozens of dogs\u00a0to fulfill hospice patients\u2019 wishes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sgt. George Chwe, a traffic sergeant with the Mesa Police Department, said the task force is assembled each Memorial Day and can result in as many as 40 DUI arrests. He said public visibility and contact with officers serve both to deter impaired driving and to hold offenders accountable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re contacted for impaired driving, you\u2019re going to be held accountable for that, but the biggest difference is that public interaction, letting people know we\u2019re out there and being visible,\u201d Chwe said.<\/p>\n<p>Chwe said he believes public service announcements have helped reduce alcohol-impaired driving but that the department is seeing a growing number of impairment arrests tied to marijuana. He reminded drivers that legalization does not make it legal or safe to drive high.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because pot is legal, doesn\u2019t mean driving high is OK,\u201d Chwe said.<\/p>\n<p>The increased patrols aim to keep roadways safer during the holiday and to prevent tragedies like the one Chacone described. \u201cOur goal is ultimately to make our roadways safer during the holiday weekend,\u201d Chwe said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=673\">7 people displaced after multiple mobile home fire in Phoenix<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MADD says Memorial Day weekend is one of the deadliest periods on the calendar, and the group estimates one-third of holiday crashes nationwide involve drivers who are intoxicated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mesa-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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