RGV District Attorney Coalition kick off ‘No Refusal’ initiative for holiday season

WESLACO — The Rio Grande Valley District Attorney Coalition held a press conference Tuesday morning to kick off their DWI “No Refusal” initiative which begins tomorrow and will last up until Jan. 2.

The coalition gathered outside the Texas Department of Public Safety Weslaco Regional Office to speak of their campaign and the consequences those who choose to drink and drive this holiday season will face.

“If you get stopped for reasonable suspicion of driving while intoxicated, you will be taken in,” Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios said. “They’re going to ask you to blow into an apparatus. If you refuse to blow, then we’re gonna have judges on standby to get a warrant for your blood and we’re gonna have medical personnel to get blood from you and that’s going to be working 24/7.”

Palacios went on to say that this is an incentive to get people from drinking and driving, which officials have said is a major issue in the Valley.

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz spoke of Edinburg Police Officer Juan “Jay” Hernandez who was hit by an alleged intoxicated driver on Sept. 29 and hospitalized with broken ribs and fractured wrist.

A Ford F-150 crashed into Juan Hernandez’s driver’s side at the intersection of 24th Avenue and Chapin Street shortly after noon that Sunday.

Fortunately, Juan Hernandez was released from the hospital a couple days later.

However, Saenz also mentioned a deputy constable from Cameron County who wasn’t as lucky.

“The very next day, in my county, Cameron County, an impaired driver rear ends at 50 miles an hour Deputy Constable Ruben Garcia killing him instantly,” Saenz said. “That is what these folks are up against. That is their job.”

A white Chevrolet Silverado driven by a man who admitted to being distracted by his phone crashed into Garcia’s parked unit on State Highway 48 and Marine Way Road. The suspect has been charged with manslaughter.

A poster is displayed as Local law enforcement talk about efforts they will be conducting in a DWI “No Refusal” initiative to help curb drunk driving during a press conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety Weslaco Regional Office on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Weslaco. (Joel Martinez | jmartinez@themonitor.com)

Garcia was 49.

Saenz then gave thanks to all the law enforcement present for their service.

Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Maria Hernandez said that the last thing police want to do is knock on a family’s door and inform them that their loved one died in a drunk driving crash during the holidays.

“The last thing we as officers want to do is go to your house, advise you as you’re eating during Thanksgiving … knock on your door and tell you your loved one has died because they were driving while intoxicated or your loved one has died as a result of another driver driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” Maria Hernandez said in Spanish.

She added that it’s important that the community and law enforcement work together in order to end these senseless tragedies.

The coalition isn’t against drinking entirely as Palacios mentioned that it’s OK to do so as long as it’s done responsibly and that people can prevent accidents from happening.

“We can do this as a community,” Palacios said. “If you report somebody, you may save his life and much more importantly you may save your own kid’s life, your own family’s lives by keeping them off the road.”

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