DUI checkpoint held tonight in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa police will conduct a DUI checkpoint tonight on northbound Santa Ana Avenue at 18th Street.

From 6 p.m. to midnight, officers will be at the intersection. They’ll be stopping vehicles to check for signs of intoxication and if motorists have a valid California driver’s license.

Drunk driving is the country’s deadliest crime, killing more than 11,700 people in 2008 alone, according to Costa Mesa police. In California, more than 1,000 people were killed, police said.

Costa Mesa police officers made one arrest at a DUI checkpoint last week and impounded four vehicles.

— Joseph Serna