FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — Fresno County is seeing a rise in drunken driving cases and law enforcement leaders are bracing for more impaired driving heading into the holidays.

“This is an epidemic. We’re at the same point right now with fentanyl, we’re at the same point with DUI,” said Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp.

Smittcamp was joined by other county leaders in law enforcement and a man who lost his entire family in a drunken driving crash.

“Be a good friend, if your friends want to party, stop them from driving, maybe someone won’t have to go through what I went through,” said Juan Pulido.

Pulido’s wife and four children, two nieces and a nephew died on New Year’s Day 2021 on Highway 33 outside Coalinga.

The California Highway Patrol said the drunk driver who also died was going about 100 miles per hour when he crashed into Pulidos’ truck.

“It’s not an easy thing to wake up knowing that you’re not with your family or coming home from work and not coming home to your family. It wasn’t easy, I couldn’t stomach it,” Pulido said.

This tragic accident was one of thousands of drunk driving cases in Fresno County over the past several years.

There were 4,162 DUI cases (both misdemeanors and felonies) in 2022.

Last year there were 5,157 cases.

There have been 3,798 DUI cases in the county so far this year, with two months to go.

“If you have a felony or misdemeanor DUI conviction and you choose to do it again, if you engage in that conduct and someone is killed, you can and will be charged with murder,” Smittcamp said.

He urged people to make a plan to have a designated sober driver or use a ride-sharing app like Uber or Lyft before they start drinking.

“There’s no excuse. Frankly, if you get arrested for DUI, you’re lucky. Because you can end a life and you have to live with that for the rest of your life,” said Chief Mindy Casto. From the Fresno Police Department.

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