WELLINGTON NETS 49 ARRESTS IN BID TO STOP UNDERAGE DUI,
Operation Wild Stallion came after fatal Nov. 25 wreck.
An effort to curb underage drinking and driving in Wellington has wrapped up for the season — but that does not mean it’s over.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office’s Operation Wild Stallion launched in December in the wake of a November crash on South Shore Boulevard that killed two young equestrians and left another critically injured.
The operation resulted in 49 DUI arrests from Dec. 1 to March 31, compared with 36 DUIs for the same period the year before, according to PBSO data. Deputies also conducted more traffic stops: up from 4,720 last equestrian season to 5,193, the data show. Traffic crashes saw a slight drop from 459 last season to 446 this year.
Operation Wild Stallion launched in response to a late-night Nov. 25 wreck. Dana McWilliams, 19, lost control of her car on southbound South Shore between Pierson and Lake Worth roads. McWilliams and her front-seat passenger, 21-yearold Christian Kennedy, were killed. Elaine O’Halloran, who was in the back seat, was critically injured.
Toxicology reports showed McWilliams’ blood-alcohol concentration was 0.083, which is just over Florida’s legal limit for adults of 0.08, but hers was more than four times Florida’s legal blood-alcohol concentration for people younger than 21, which is 0.02.
Wellington had two goals at the beginning of Operation Wild Stallion, said Assistant Village Manager Jim Barnes: awareness and prevention.
“I think we were successful in that,” he said. “Residents in general were glad that we were proactive.”
As part of the operation, Wellington invited alcohol-serving establishments to take part first in a roundtable, then in monthly conference calls. Representatives of prominent venues including The Grille and Player’s Club took part.
“Everybody was talking and exchanging information,” Barnes said. “... It’s almost like in some cases, everybody shares what they’re doing, and you get lessons learned.”
One of those lessons: Fake IDs prove challenging at the height of the season. Proprietors at the roundtable decried the sophistication of the identification cards used by underage patrons trying to buy alcohol. One even brought a binder filled with fake IDs of people he no longer will serve.
Some fake IDs have been so convincing they fool the electronic scanners designed to thwart them. On a February conference call, Players Club owner Neil S. Hirsch said the fake IDs are a “difficult problem.”
“These IDs have become so sophisticated that you cannot tell the difference,” he said.
Deputies have made progress on busting underage drinkers and halting the use of fake IDs in Wellington, said Capt. Rolando Silva, commander of PBSO’s District 8, which includes Wellington.
“Even though it’s difficult to quantify, indications are that the public, and particularly youths in the equestrian community, know it is certainly riskier to engage in this type of illegal activity due to our much-publicized enforcement efforts, not to mention the ‘word-ofmouth beware’ likely given by the offenders netted in the operation,” Silva said.
PBSO plans to do something similar to Operation Wild Stallion next season, Silva said. While it may not carry the same name, the spirit will be the same: enforcement and awareness.
“All in all, I think everybody was satisfied with the results,” Barnes said.
The equestrian community rallied around attempts to increase awareness. Olympian and U.S. Equestrian Team coach Robert Dover worked with fellow Wellington trainer Tom Wright to expand the Get Home Safe program, which offers free rides home from some Wellington bars. Hundreds of rides were offered through the season.
“Everybody got in the game and contributed, and the result was a safer and better season,” Barnes said.
Kennedy’s death also spurred the launch of two dressage scholarships: Dover’s Christian Kennedy Future Stars Scholarship, and the Unicorn Scholarship through Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids program.