Costa Mesa DUI checkpoints net five arrests

COSTA MESA — DUI checkpoints on Wednesday and Thursday nights resulted in five arrests, 36 citations issued and 20 vehicles towed, according to a news release from the Costa Mesa Police Department.

A paraplegic driver was among the drivers arrested for suspected DUI on Wednesday, and was spotted just before entering the checkpoint, the statement said.

The second checkpoint, on Thursday night, led to the arrest of a 78-year-old motorist, whose driving privileges had expired. The officer recognized the elderly woman from a checkpoint held five months ago in the same area, where the driver had been stopped for driving without a license.

In a separate incident, an officer on a motorcycle came across an injury hit-and-run traffic collision at the intersection of Anton Boulevard and Avenue of the Arts and was able to apprehend the suspect, according to the release.

The checkpoints took place in the 2300 block of Placentia Avenue on Wednesday, and at the intersection of Sunflower Avenue and Anton Boulevard Thursday. The locations were selected because DUI-related fatalities had occurred there before.

A total of 1,293 vehicles passed through the checkpoints and 1,110 were screened.

—Lauren Williams