Testy Festy 2013 – Highway Patrol Says No Fatal Accidents This Year [AUDIO]
When it comes to the 2013 Testicle Festival that wrapped up Sunday night at the Rock Creek Lodge, the Montana Highway Patrol's attitude is 'no news is good news'.
Sergeant Chad Dever with the Montana Highway Patrol said that there had been no drunk driving accidents through the weekend.
"In the past, people were dying out there," Dever said. "Our goal was to not let that happen and keep the roads safe , so we had been hitting it really hard, and as of Sunday night, nobody has been hurt in a crash as a result of leaving the festivities out there, so we're very happy."
Dever said the highway patrol and the Missoula County Sheriff's Department had extra patrols in the area to let party-goers know there was a strong law enforcement presence.
"We opened up some extra shifts so we had a full staff, and we had the travel squad here, as well," Dever said. "Everybody was aware of our presence, because we were working the area pretty hard and we were highly visible trying to convince anyone who was thinking of taking a chance and drinking and driving not to, just by letting them know we were out there and we're going to stop you if you do."
Dever said the festival had their own security on hand.
"They had their own entity out in the camp, and if they had a problem they would have called law enforcement," Dever said. "One brother called us and said his sister was trying to drive away while intoxicated, and we appreciate that because we're just trying to keep everybody safe."
In 2012, a Missoula man and an eight year-old Washington state boy were both killed in a wrong-way crash on I-90 during the festival.
Dever said the news was good regarding law enforcement at this year's event.
"We have really good news," Dever said. "Everybody had a good time and nobody got hurt on the roads. So, we're really happy, we consider it a huge success... nobody died this year."