Printable VersionArea law enforcement and fire department officials reported typical holiday weekend demands during Labor Day weekend and only a few major incidents.
 Jayne Hanson/News-Herald Photo From a boat beached on the shores of south Bridgewater Channel Sunday afternoon, a party crowd waves to two Lake Havasu City police officers patrolling the popular waterway during Labor Day weekend. |
The fire department emergency resources were spread thin this year compared to last year. Last year, the department was able to station two two-man crews on the east and west banks of Bridgewater Channel.
This year, one two-man crew was stationed on the west side of the Channel and was responsible for covering the Channel and Island beaches, one two-man crew stationed on the east side of the Channel and one crew stationed at Fire Station No. 5 to respond to Rotary Park if needed, Chief Mueller explained.
“There were no major incidents. We had a relatively calm holiday weekend,” said Sgt. Joe Harrold, Lake Havasu City Police Department spokesman.
Harrold reported the department’s boat patrols closed the north section of the Channel for about 10 minutes Saturday afternoon to address issues of boat traffic congestion. “It was becoming a navigational safety issue, so the officers made the call to shut it down,” Harrold said of the brief waterway closure.
The local police department responded to 992 calls for service during the holiday weekend and made 95 arrests for a variety of offenses, 91 of which were adults, according to a press release issued by Lake Havasu City Tuesday.
Furthermore, officers responded to 17 vehicle accidents and made 296 traffic stops over the course of the weekend.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department reported two boating related incidents that occurred on the Colorado River over the weekend from Friday to Monday. One was a boat collision that happened Saturday night at about 11:30 p.m. on the Parker Strip and involved one boat with a sole occupant who sustained major injuries and airlifted to a Phoenix area hospital, according to Deputy Dave Smith of SBCSD.
The second occurred earlier Saturday at the mini sandbar on the west side of the river just north of Havasu Landing involving a man who dove from a boat into shallow water causing neck injuries. The 34-year old man of San Diego was air-evacuated to a Las Vegas area hospital to be treated for his injuries, Smith said.
SBCSD reported four boating under the influence arrests, several thefts in the Park Moabi area and two minor property damage boat collision, two north of Needles, Calif., and one on the Parker Strip.
“It was a busy, typical holiday weekend. Fort Moabi was crazy,” Smith said of his on-duty experiences over Labor Day holiday weekend.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office reported six operating under the influence arrests, one boating accident with injury and 22 boater assists.
Deputies also addressed boater safety violations including overloaded watercraft and insufficient personal flotation devices and reported 27 related citations as well as 53 related warnings. Eight citations were given for reckless operations on the water over Labor Day weekend.
MCSO reportedly responded to four injury vehicle collisions on Mohave County roadways during the Western Arizona Task Force Aug. 21 to Sept. 7. The agency’s deputies also responded to 19 non-injury collisions on area highways. They also arrested 40 individuals on charges of driving under the influences.
Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety statewide DUI Task Force concluded Monday and reported an overall of 13,693 traffic stops during the campaign that began Aug. 21 of this year. Statewide efforts removed 1,136 from Arizona highways, according to GOHS reports.
You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.
Article Rating