11 Arrested, 193 Stopped in Portsmouth, NH, DUI Saturation Patrol

Friday night and early Saturday morning were busy for New Hamshire State Police and Portsmouth Police during a DUI saturation patrol which led to 193 traffic stops, including 11 arrests and a wrong-way drunk driver.

The patrol announced earlier in the week was part of an initiative funded by the New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Officers and troopers on roads and highways both in and around Portsmouth issued 40 citations and 138 warnings for various motor vehicle infractions, according to State Police. Seven drivers, including a 93-year-old Portsmouth man, were charged with driving under the influence of liquor, one under the influence of drugs, two on arrest warrants, and one operating without a valid license.

The participating officers also helped stop a 22-year-old Farmington woman driving her Mini Cooper south in the northbound lanes of the Spaulding Turnpike near the Dover toll plaza around 2:15 a.m. After the driver, Sophia P. Hall, did not stop when officers activated their emergency lights and sirens, they boxed the woman with their vehicles in near Exit 6.

Hall and a passenger described as "heavily intoxicated" were taken into custody and placed in the back of a police vehicle. Hall removed one of the handcuffs and kicked the trooper who was trying to re-cuff her.

Hall was charged with reckless conduct, aggravated driving under the influence of drugs or liquor, disobeying an officer, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, escape along with a number of motor vehicle violations.

The passenger and driver were placed in protective custody at the Strafford County House of Corrections.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH