Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California hope to save lives from DUI drivers on St. Patrick's Day
As revelers prepare for St. Patrick’s Day festivities this Sunday, authorities will be ramping up their presence and patrolling the streets for drunk drivers.
California Highway Patrol officers will be out in full force across Southern California, hoping to keep the streets safe and prevent any unnecessary injuries or deaths.
Officers said St. Patrick’s Day is one of the major holidays when driving under the influence is unfortunately prevalent.
As revelers head out for a night of drinking and celebrating at local bars and restaurants, watchful CHP officers like Luis Quintero are making sure people can get home safely.
“We tend to see more drivers go out and drink and drive,” Quintero said. “So, the sole purpose of the task force is to saturate that area and get these drivers off the road.”
Quintero took KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff on a ride-along through Baldwin Park and downtown Los Angeles as he explained the goals of CHP’s Impaired Driving Task Force. The task force is typically deployed during holidays and at monthly intervals.
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Partygoers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a Los Angeles bar. (KTLA) -
Partygoers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a Los Angeles bar. (KTLA) -
California Highway Patrol officer Luis Quintero works to ensure roads are safe from anyone driving under the influence as part of his job with CHP’s Impaired Driving Task Force on March 16, 2024. (KTLA) -
California Highway Patrol sets up DUI checkpoints to ensure drivers are not driving under the influence. (KTLA) -
Drivers traveling on the roads in Los Angeles. (KTLA) -
Drivers traveling on a freeway in Los Angeles. (KTLA)
“I’m looking for driving patterns that I’ve seen throughout my career that indicate some kind of impairment,” Quintero explained.
Authorities will be holding DUI checkpoints at designated locations. Los Angeles police will be deploying plainclothes officers to liquor stores to ensure alcohol isn’t sold to anyone under 21 or to anyone who is visibly drunk.
He explains the idea is to saturate highly-populated areas with officers from several local divisions to ensure partiers are not endangering themselves or innocent citizens.
“Drivers under the influence tend to lack awareness and not notice or sometimes see us. This is another indicator right here,” Quintero said as he spotted an SUV driving without any lights on.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, St. Patrick’s Day is one of the deadliest times on the road nationwide.
A 2021 report found that 13,384 people died from alcohol-impaired crashes, marking a 14% increase from 2020.
This doesn’t mean that partygoers should avoid drinking, but rather, planning ahead is the most important thing, authorities said. Whether choosing to travel through a rideshare company or a taxi or going home with a designated sober driver, ensuring a safe ride to and from party locations can save lives.
“If you are going to drink, do it responsibly,” Quintero said.
Authorities are also reminding the public that alcohol isn’t the only substance that can cause impairment. Marijuana, prescription medication or over-the-counter drugs can also impair the ability to drive.
A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.
The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.
He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.
The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.
Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]
WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
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A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia)
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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