San Diego County’s deadly DUI numbers are nearing an all-time high, according to District Attorney Summer Stephan.
Making a worrisome trend worse is the fact that, according to Stephan, prosecutors are seeing higher blood alcohol levels associated with these deadly tragedies, as well as more drivers mixing drugs and alcohol before getting behind the wheel.
Bruce Mezan suffered a near-death experience because of a DUI driver back in February 2020.
He was on his way to teach a motorcycle safety class at 6:30 a.m. when a passed-out driver in an SUV slammed into him at 50 mph while he was riding his motorcycle through a Rancho Santa Fe intersection.
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In addition to losing his leg, Mezan battled back from a litany of other injuries.
“I had two brain bleeds. I mentioned the coma. I broke all of my ribs. I've got 40 pieces of hardware still in my rib cage, reassembling it," Mezan said.
Since 2020, Stephan said the county has seen a rise in DUI homicides.
Also troubling, she said, is the 45% rise in drivers mixing drugs and alcohol. There were 151 cases in all of last year versus 219 since the start of this year through the start of November, according to Stephan.
“The combination together is creating a hazard that's causing DUI deaths,” Stephan said.
Last year, 33 people were killed in DUI-related crashes countywide. So far this year, there have been 27 deaths. With more holidays around the corner, there’s cause for concern.
"Everyone needs to be their brother and their sister's keeper. It is not interfering in someone's business by saying, 'You're in no condition to drive," said Stephan.
The DA’s office has received an $800,000 grant from the state office of traffic safety. Stephan said the money will help prevention efforts and give the DA’s DUI homicide unit more resources to prosecute.
Over the past 10 years, the unit has prosecuted 225 deadly DUI cases.
“When you're in that vehicle, you have a dangerous instrument, so people need to stop and think of it that way. It’s a weapon of sorts, and when you can't handle it properly it's going to take a life, like a gun or something else," Stephan said.
After battling back from his near-death experience, Mezan now speaks to DUI offenders, hoping his story will help keep our roads safer.
“Truly, and this sounds cliche, and there's no way to quantify this, but if I was able to keep one person from hurting themselves or someone else, it's a fair trade," he said.
