First day of Kitsap County emphasis patrols nets 5 DUIs, 2 stolen vehicles, dozens of violations

KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — With an increase in travel during the holidays comes an increase in serious injury and fatal crashes.

To help decrease the number of crashes, Washington State Patrol, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Port Orchard police and Bremerton police are conducting four days and nights of HIVE — High Visibility Emphasis patrols — in Kitsap County, especially around the Gorst area.

The first HIVE patrols were conducted on Saturday, Nov. 19.

During the patrols, troopers recovered two stolen vehicles. One of the vehicles was found to be stolen after its license plate was scanned with an automatic reader.

The second stolen vehicle was a motorcycle, whose driver sped away from troopers but was followed overhead by a helicopter to an apartment complex.

Once there, the driver ditched the motorcycle and then went through brush and possibly into an apartment. A Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office K-9 tried to track the driver but was not successful.

During Saturday’s traffic safety emphasis patrols, 120 total stops were made with 153 violations and 90 contacts for speeding.

During Saturday evening DUI emphasis patrols, 52 drivers were contacted for speeding and five for DUI. Troopers said there were a total of eight criminal offenses.

The remaining HIVE patrols will be on Nov. 26, Dec. 17 and Dec. 31.

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