CHP releases local New Year’s arrest and crash statistics

One fatal crash occurred in the Coachella Valley over the New Year’s holiday weekend, while more than a dozen people were arrested for driving under the influence, according to statistics released today by the California Highway Patrol.

From 6 p.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, a total of 16 crashes occurred in the area patrolled by the CHP’s Indio area office. A half-dozen of those crashes resulted in injuries.

The fatality occurred on Friday night, when 55-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident George Hoffman’s Chevrolet Tahoe veered off of eastbound Interstate 10, west of state Route 62 near Palm Springs.

In 2017, 10 crashes were recorded during that New Year’s weekend, four of which resulted in injuries, and two of which resulted in fatalities.

Both 2017 and 2018 saw 14 motorists arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs during the holiday period, when enforcement of traffic laws is increased by the CHP and other law enforcement agencies.