Police upped DUI patrols over holiday
As promised, law enforcement officers appear as if they stepped up enforcement efforts over the holiday weekend, making a number of DUI arrests and jailing several others for driving with a suspended license.
Joseph C. Volner, 22, of Fort Gordon, was charged with both driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.
The 22-year-old has been accused of driving a friend's 2007 Ford Mustang through the Home Depot parking lot early Saturday morning, speeding over a speed bump and crashing into the home improvement store, clipping several pallets of sand and concrete as well as a push cart that was outside the building.
The driver's side of the car was heavily damaged, police said.
The driver said he did not crash into the building, saying instead that a vehicle clipped him and caused him to slide into the building.
The man told police he had a couple of drinks, however, the officer reported that Volner failed a number of field sobriety tests.
He was arrested for DUI; however, the officer later learned that his Virginia driver's license was suspended and he did not have a South Carolina driver's license.
Police took Volner to take a breathalyzer; however, he refused to provide a breath sample, officials said.
He was taken to the detention center.
At least 13 people were jailed at the Aiken County detention center over the weekend for driving under the influence. About that many more were also jailed for driving under suspension.
Leading up to the holiday weekend, local law enforcement officers had warned drivers of the increased DUI enforcement presence, adding that a S.C. Highway Patrol Team had also dedicated a new DUI task force to patrolling state roadways.
The team has been established to curb DUIs in an effort to save lives.
Over the holiday weekend, preliminary numbers show 11 people were killed on South Carolina highways from Thursday, July 2 at 6 p.m. until Monday at midnight. No traffic deaths were reported in Aiken during that time frame.
The state has not released the number of those deaths that are believed to be DUI-related.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.