CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - With highest drunk-driving rates in U.S., East Texas cracks down

With highest drunk-driving rates in U.S., East Texas cracks down

by Meghan McDermott

TYLER (KYTX) - A Tyler man has received a forty year prison sentence after being arrested for the fifth time for drinking and driving. Smith County Judge Jack Skeen handed down the sentence to 55-year-old Christopher Serres on Tuesday. Serres was stopped on July 13th after he ran into a fence on County Road 192. He then failed a field sobriety test. His blood alcohol level was .15.

Serres is certainly not the only repeat offender going through the East Texas judicial system. In fact, Texas has more drunk driving related accidents than anywhere else in the country. What's worse: East Texas ranks highest in state for drunk driving. It's a glaring statistic that law enforcement agencies are trying to stop.

"When someone is driving while intoxicated, statistically, there is a huge chance they've done it before." Former Smith County district judge Cynthia Stevens-Kent has seen her fair share of DWI cases. "You have cases and people receive their punishment. They pay their price to society and then they are released," said Judge Kent.

But even she will admit, the judicial system can't solve all the problems of the world. "You know, in Smith County alone, we've had some horrible tragedies. Families that are just wiped out because of a drunk driver."

It's been 19 years since Lana Kay Taylor's daughter, 26 year old Renee, was killed by a drunk driver. Renee and her husband, Mark, were driving home from dinner when a drunk driver slammed into their car.

"It was my understanding that he had been drinking all day. He drank all he had and went to Coffee City to get some more. On the way home he hit my daughter and killed her." Taylor says it's not the drinking that bothers her, it's what people do after they drink. "Two, I can understand. [It's] when they get three, and four and five offenses and they're still on the streets driving."

Where the judicial system leaves off is where Kent says we must step in. "It has to come from us in the community that we care enough about each other to not let our friends drive after they've been drinking," said Judge Kent.

Just this week, MADD kicked off its fifth annual "Tie One On For Safety" campaign. During the holiday season these red ribbons on car antennas will signify those committing to not drink and drive.

Under Texas law, DWI offenders are required to attend a drug and alcohol rehabilitation counseling program.