51°
Top: Elmwood Park P.O. Michael Prelich
Prelich, whose dedication to keeping roads safe was recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for the 2009 calendar year, was officially acknowledged yesterday during a solemn ceremony at the Trenton War Memorial Building shared by law enforcement officers and survivors of those taken too early.
The officers, including New Jersey State troopers, escorted families who displayed photos and lit candles to commemorate the lives of nearly 13,000 people needlessly killed last year.
“[W]hat a pointless, and preventable tragedy impaired driving is,” Division of Highway Traffic Safety Acting Director Gary Poedubicky told those gathered.
Aiming to stem the tide are officers such as Prelich, who was among those in New Jersey who made more than 30,000 DWI arrests last year.
To give you some idea of Prelich’s dedication: In 2010, the Elmwood Park veteran wrote a total of wrote 3,517 summonses — an average of nearly 10 a day if you divide by 365 — while also answering calls for service in the 2.8-square-mile town known decades ago as East Paterson.
Although there are barely more than 20,000 residents in Elmwood Park, it’s a busy town, with Routes 4, 46 and 80, as well as the Garden State Parkway, running through it. Ask the locals and they’ll tell you how busy the roads there can get.
To gauge how committed Elmwood Park police are to protecting motorists, a review of departmental records for calendar year 2005 shows 32 DWI arrests; that jumped to 83 the following year; 146 in 2007 and 182 the following year, with a dip in 2009, to 168, followed by the surge in 2010.
Police in Elmwood Park have put more than 1,000 roving DWI patrols on the roads in just the past five years alone, while staffing numerous checkpoints and participating in the national “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaigns.
The aim, he said, isn‘t only to catch and prosecute offenders but to make a loud enough noise to people to think twice before they imbibe and get behind the wheel.
Prelich, who has “has demonstrated and maintained a committed work ethic,” according to department brass, also speaks to high school students as part of MADD‘s outreach efforts.
{loadposition log}
Click here to follow Daily Voice Paterson and receive free news updates.
