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Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. with John McMorris, Alisa McMorris, and Arianna McMorris, who lost their son and brother to a drunk driver in 2018, at the event announcing Operation Heat. COURTESY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
The summer season starts this weekend and, according to Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr., the heat is on for drunk and drugged drivers in Suffolk County.
“Our deputy sheriffs will be out in full force patrolling the roadways with an eye out for impaired drivers,” he said. “If you don’t drive sober, you will be pulled over.”
On Thursday, June 29, he announced Operation Heat, a summer STOP DWI program, which aims to ramp up already increased efforts that include the highest number of DWI patrols and arrests in recent sheriff’s office history. The sheriff's office DWI team has already had record-high impaired driving arrests this year, with a nearly 40 percent increase in arrests from 2022.
Paige Carbone, the regional director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was on hand at headquarters in Yaphank for the announcement, as were members of the McMorris family, who lost their son and brother, Andrew, to a drunk driver in 2018. The 12-year-old boy was hiking with his Boy Scout troop in Manorville when he was struck and killed.
Alisa and John McMorris turned their grief into action by forming the Andrew McMorris Foundation.
The McMorrises said the foundation’s core mission is to recognize community-oriented and positive-minded students with scholarships and grants as well as to advocate with lawmakers to create legislation to put an end to drunk, drugged and impaired driving. They asks everyone, this summer and always, to make a promise to never drink and drive.
“Call a cab, call a friend, save a life, start a trend. You don’t have to be a superhero to save someone’s life. Just take the keys,” they said in a release announcing Operation Heat.
“MADD supports Operation Heat and will join the efforts by providing staff and volunteers to participate in checkpoints across the county this summer,” Carbone said. “Our mission is to end drunk driving and MADD encourages alternatives, such as designating a non-drinking driver, rideshares, and using public transportation, that can prevent these crimes from happening.”
Beginning this weekend, the Suffolk County sheriff’s office will increase DWI patrols and checkpoints, from Huntington to the Hamptons, and continue all summer long.
Staff Writer on Jun 30, 2023