Driving while intoxicated in El Paso remains "a serious and persistent problem," which tends to increase during the Labor Day holiday as summer comes to an end, law enforcement and state traffic officials said.
The DWI problem was tragically highlighted with the recent deaths of two men within three days, allegedly at the hands of a freeway wrong-way driver and an 18-year-old driver, who is not legally old enough to drink, who crashed, resulting in a passenger's death.
An El Paso Police Department overview of DWI data indicated a citywide issue with hot zones along Interstate 10 near Downtown and the East Side, as well as at Five Points and Zaragoza Road.
El Paso law enforcement joined the Texas Department
of Transportation's new "Drive Sober. No Regrets" campaign, which includes heightened law enforcement from Aug. 14 through Labor Day, Sept. 7, timed with the holiday weekend.
The anti-impaired driving effort kicked off with a news conference on Aug. 17, in the lobby of the El Paso convention center, featuring the TxDOT officials, joined by dozens of police officers and sheriff's deputies.
DWI cases increase around Labor Day as summer comes to an end and school and football season start, El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said.
"I know we hear it in court every day from (DWI crash) defendants that are arrested about how much they regret the choices that they’ve made, how sorry they are that this happened. But we need to be saying that on the front end before it happens," Montoya said.
The community needs to look out for each other, make plans to have a sober ride and stop friends and family from driving after they've been drinking or using drugs, including cannabis and THC products, law enforcement officials said.
“The statistics speak for themselves. Impaired driving is a serious and persistent problem here in El Paso and our officers are committed to putting a stop to it," El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said.
“These numbers represent real people and families whose lives were forever changed," Ugarte added, referring to fatal DWI crashes.
El Paso DWI overview
El Paso police presented a comprehensive overview of DWI data to the El Paso City Council on July 7. Mayor Renard Johnson has made curbing drunk driving one of his priorities since taking office last year.
Alcohol-related crashes accounted for 22 of the 62 traffic deaths in El Paso in 2025, police noted.
Among the EPPD presentation's key points were:
- 35% of all fatalities have been alcohol-related since 2023.
- About 90% of all DWI offenders are first-time offenders.
- Men account for the majority of DWI suspects, most from 25-34 age group.
- DWI arrests may increase 28% by year's end based on current trajectory.
The peak time for DWI-related crashes is from 10 p.m. Friday to 2:59 a.m. Saturday and the same time period Saturday into Sunday, EPPD reported.
The most common DWI-crash hotspots are:
- I-10 near Downtown.
- Downtown near Stanton Street.
- Five Points, along Piedras Street between I-10 and Tularosa Avenue.
- I-10 between Yarbrough Drive and Lee Trevino Drive.
- Zaragoza Road corridor, near I-10 and between Montwood Drive and Sun Fire Boulevard.
There were more than 500 alcohol-related crashes in El Paso each year from 2023 to 2025. Bars (36%) and homes (30%) are the most frequent self-reported locations of DWI suspects' last drink, police reported.
Speeding is the top factor in all fatalities and accidents, police reported. The number of speeding citations issued by EPPD is projected to rise by 34% by the end of the year, compared to the 28,063 speeding citations issued in all of 2025.
The EPPD DWI Task Force is made up of 15 members — 13 officers, one sergeant and one lieutenant. The task force had 12 members in 2025.
EPPD has a total of 1,137 officers, up from 1,127 in 2025 as of May, the presentation stated.
DWI kills 3 people a day in Texas
Texas had a spike in traffic deaths during last year's Labor Day holiday weekend when 26 people died as a result of alcohol or drug-impaired driving crashes within four days, TxDOT officials said at the El Paso news conference.
Last year, more than 1,300 people died in Texas crashes involving impaired driving, amounting to the deaths of three persons a day, transportation officials said.
"We need drivers across Texas to look out for one another and commit to always driving sober," David Palmer, behavioral traffic safety section director for TxDOT, said.
Waiting for Jennifer
DWI is a preventable crime that can cause immeasurable loss, pain and heartbreak, said Tanya Childress, whose 32-year-old daughter was killed by an intoxicated driver in Houston on April 2, 2022.
Childress said her daughter, Harris County Precinct 7 Deputy Constable Jennifer Chavis, was a U.S. Army veteran, "a wonderful daughter," sister, cousin, friend and “an amazing, outstanding mother."
"Jennifer was a great role model to those who knew her," Childress, who travels across Texas urging sober driving, said at the El Paso news conference.
Deputy Constable Chavis was on patrol on Beltway 8, a freeway encircling Houston, when she got word of a driver suspect of being intoxicated who was weaving among traffic lanes, Childress said.
Chavis parked her patrol vehicle on the road shoulder, waiting to intercept when the speeding DWI driver crossed four lanes of traffic before slamming into the back of her vehicle, causing it to burst into flames, Childress said.
“It was all because a selfish man made the decision to drink and drive. I still wake up at night waiting for Jennifer to call and tell me ‘Mama, I made it home.’ I miss her calls just asking ‘Hey, mama, what you doing?'" said Childress, wearing a pink memorial T-shirt of her daughter.
Jennifer’s son had to continue life without his mother to send him off on his first day of school and to celebrate his birthdays, Childress said. "Not having the emotional and physical comfort of his mother when he does not feel well, or has had a not-so-good day and needs a mother's hug."
The driver who killed Chavis was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter of a police officer and because of his criminal history and prior DWIs, he was sentenced to life in prison, Childress said.
"I and Jennifer's loved ones have also been given a life sentence by having to live without Jennifer for the rest of our lives," Childress said.
Childress added, "If you are not going to be considerate of strangers on the road with you when you drink and drive, please be considerate of your family members and what they will go through if you are arrested for a DWI, injured, killed or injure or kill someone else because of your poor decision making."
Tips for choosing a sober ride and more information visit: soberrides.org
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 'Persistent problem.' A closer look at El Paso DWI hot zones, stats
