Weekend Sobriety Checkpoint Yields Seven Arrests

Howard County police made seven arrests at a sobriety checkpoint over the weekend in Ellicott City.

According to a statement from the department, officers established a post on US Route 40 at Governors Run in Ellicott City from Saturday night through Sunday morning.

Of the 647 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint, one driver under the influence of alcohol was arrested, according to the Howard County Police Department (HCPD). Police also made six other arrests.

HCPD provided the following arrest statistics from its Dec. 3–4 checkpoint:

• 1 person was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol
• 1 person was driving without a license
• 2 drivers were in possession of marijuana
• 3 people were driving on a suspended license 

Earlier in the week, the department announced that it would be holding a , stating that five people are killed in impaired-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day on average in Maryland.

Sobriety checkpoints are part of a campaign supported by funding from the Maryland Highway Safety Office, said HCPD.

Maryland State Police joined Howard County officers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving in stopping vehicles and providing a handout with information about drunk driving, according to a statement from HCPD.

This article has been corrected to reflect that five people are killed in impaired-driving crashes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day in Maryland, not in Howard County.