Iowa statewide coalition to address impaired driving

DES MOINES - A coalition has been formed to address impaired driving in Iowa.

On Monday, the Iowa Department of Public Safety announced the coalition, which will include members from the Department of Public Safety, the Iowa Govenor's Traffic Safety Bureau, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory, corrections, transportation, public health and human rights officials, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Attorney General's Office, city, county and state law enforcement officials and private partners.

The coalition has been tasked with reviewing current laws and data in order to develop a statewide plan for addressing impaired driving in Iowa.

Iowa had 110 drug or alcohol-related fatalities in 2014, according to the DOT. In 2013, there were 113 drug or alcohol-related offenses.

The Department of Public Safety said the coalition's plan to decrease deaths and increase public safety will be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for approval when it is completed.

The announcement of the coalition comes less than two months after a high profile drunken driving crash killed two Des Moines police officers. The state patrol said last month that 25-year-old Benjamin E. Beary had a blood alcohol content of .223 percent on March 26 when went the wrong way down Interstate 80 and crashed into a police transport vehicle. Officers Carlos Puente-Morales, 34; and Susan Farrell, 30; Beary; and a prisoner in the police vehicle, Tosha N. Hyatt, were all killed in the crash.

Beary had also used marijuana before the crash, the state patrol reported.

The Department of Public Safety said on Monday that the Farrell/Puente-Morales Award would be presented annually to a law enforcement agency that displays 'a strong emphasis on addressing impaired driving throughout the year.”