A Friday night patrol emphasis in southeast King County focusing on DUI drivers led to the arrest of two drivers, both who had previous arrests for DUI.

The DUI patrol emphasis started at 8 p.m. Friday in southeast King County. Four deputies and one sergeant worked the focused patrol that began the shift by contacting employees at 11 local businesses that serve alcohol.

Deputies told employees about the patrols and encouraged them to find alternate rides home for their customers to prevent DUI’s. After the business checks deputies patrolled the area looking for impaired drivers.

Two DUI arrests were made during the shift.

A 29-year-old Buckley woman was arrested on Friday just before 11 p.m. near the 46800 block of 244 Avenue Southeast. Deputies spotted her behind the wheel of her car in a ditch. Deputies conducted an investigation and determined she had been driving impaired when she drove into the ditch.

The other arrest was made around 1:30 Saturday morning near the 16400 block of Southeast 272 Street. A deputy saw a car swerving back and forth as it travelled eastbound on 272nd. The deputy stopped the car and after investigating, arrested the driver, a 40-year-old Auburn woman for driving under the influence.

Both of the women had prior DUI arrests and were booked into the King County Jail.

Deputies were able to determine that neither woman had been drinking at any of the businesses that had been contacted at the start of patrols.

“DUI’s are expensive in many ways. The most significant costs are the loss of lives, the injuries, and the impact on family and friends of lost victims of DUI’s,” King County Sheriff Sergeant Mark Toner, who organized the emphasis, said in a press release. “These two arrests may have prevented tragedy from occurring.”

The Sheriff’s Office will be conducting additional impaired driving emphasis patrols throughout the rest of the year.

-from a press release