Nearly 500 people were arrested for DWI during Thanksgiving weekend, according to statistics by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).
According to the data, 480 people were arrested for DWI from Nov. 21 through 6 a.m. Monday, Nov. 26. The total is down from last year's 490 but up from 2016 (448) and 2015 (468). There were also 733 crashes during the period, including four fatalities and 25 serious injury crashes.
Three of the four people killed were involved in alcohol-related crashes.
Those are the hard stats, but the DPS also revealed stories of the most dangerous encounters police and state troopers had with drunk drivers.
Squad car nearly hit
Crystal police arrested a 26-year-old woman for DWI after she ran a red light and almost hit a police car.
Driving with a .34 BAC
In the northern Minnesota town of Deer River, a 37-year-old man was cuffed for a DWI with a blood alcohol content of .37, which is more than 4 1/2 times the legal limit. Police say he was parked in a driveway flashing the headlights on and off and had an open bottle and a mixed drink in the vehicle.
Teenagers in a church parking lot
Eden Prairie police arrested a 17-year-old male who blew a .11 BAC. He was in a church parking lot with four passengers in the vehicle, including two 18-year-olds who were cited for underage consumption and illegal drugs. Police say three of the four passengers were about to get into their own vehicles and drive.
Sober driver was actually drunk
Eden Prairie police arrested a 21-year-old woman with a BAC of .13. She told police that she was driving because the passenger in the car was "too drunk" to drive.