A Los Angeles man was hospitalized on June 2 after a DUI driver slammed into him at a bus stop in Santa Monica.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), John Edward Alevizos (DOB: 04-12-1988) of Los Angeles, was driving through the intersection of 26th and Wilshire at about midnight on June 2 when he lost control of his Volkswagen Jetta, left the roadway and hit a pedestrian who was seated at the bus station.
Responding officers found the victim, a 19-year-old male from Los Angeles, suffering from severe traumatic injuries to both legs. The victim was transported to UCLA Medical Center where he is in critical condition.
Alevizos, who claimed he was on his way home at the time of the crash, was arrested for felony Driving Under the Influence.
SMPD said the incident remained under investigation and additional details were unavailable at press time.
SMPD issued a warning about the dangers of drunk driving hours before the Friday crash.
Drunk driving arrests have increased in recent years after a sharp decline during the pandemic.
There were 182 DUI arrests reported in 2019 and that number fell to 126 in 2020. It grew slightly to 131 in 2021 and then to 167 last year. In the first quarter of this year, SMPD reported 35 DUI arrests.
According to SMPD, every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 39 minutes. In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths — a 14% increase from 2020. These deaths were all preventable.
Consequences for DUI violations vary by severity of the incident but can include probation, fines, loss of a license and for more serious felony charges, jail is a possibility.
Officials have also targeted the sale of alcohol to minors as underage drinking is connected to DUI deaths among youth. In the most recent sting, SMPD cited one clerk for selling to a child.
