New York State Trooper Ian DeGiovine has had extensive surgery, gone through intense physical therapy and has somehow beaten the odds and returned to duty despite a horrific 2006 run-in with an intoxicated driver.
The trooper, based out of the state police barracks in Guilderland, was on a routine DWI patrol with a fellow trooper in Greene County, when their patrol vehicle was struck head-on by another vehicle traveling the wrong way at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.
Speaking at the announcement of Albany County’s latest DWI enforcement crackdown on Nov. 1, DeGiovine explained that it doesn’t take much for a driver to be impaired.
“The person that hit us, his blood alcohol content level wasn’t extremely high,” said DeGiovine, who added that the driver’s BAC was just below the legal limit of .08 percent.
During a countywide crackdown Oct. 28 through Nov. 1, police around Albany County made 786 traffic stops and 29 arrests of motorists allegedly operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs. During the same time period in 2010, police made 1,200 stops throughout Albany County during an enforcement effort that resulted in 15 DWI arrests.
One clear difference between the two saturation patrols is that law enforcement agencies, starting with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, have decided to go back to a mix of announced and unannounced patrols in an effort to deter impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel.
Denis Foley, the Albany County STOP-DWI Coordinator, said everybody, including law enforcement, is vulnerable to drunk drivers.
“It’s the most common criminal act in America, and the most common one in Albany County,” said Foley.
It’s been 14 years since Richard Garhartt, a traffic investigator with the Colonie Police Department, was nearly killed by a drunk driver while on duty. He was struck by a driver fleeing the scene of a traffic stop near the Starlite Theater, leaving Garhartt with life-threatening injuries that kept him from ever returning to the force.
Garhartt has volunteered with the county’s STOP-DWI program since 1994.
“We go to victim panels and we just wish that nobody shows up. Unfortunately, the numbers are just getting higher and higher,” said Garhartt. “It’s one of those crimes that can truly be eradicated if people would just make the right choice.”
Foley said that future saturation patrols conducted throughout the county will now be named in honor of past victims of DWI crashes.
“It will put a personal touch to it, give it purpose and meaning,” said Foley.
While the latest enforcement period coincided with Halloween, and around a weekend filled with parties and celebrations of the holiday, law enforcement officials throughout Albany County are showing no signs of scaling back their efforts throughout the year.
“We’ve taken a much more vigorous approach, a much tougher approach with people who are engaged in this irresponsible act, because we do not want to continue having these conversations with victims, and the families of victims,” said Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
The fight to keep drunk drivers off the road is one that remains personal for DeGiovine, who doctors thought would never be able to wear the State Police uniform again as an active trooper.
“When you take the risk of getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, you’re not only taking your own life in your hands, but you’re taking people who are out there working hard, who have families, who want to come home every day after their shift safely, in your hands,” said DeGiovine.
