Lafayette had its first Marid Gras ball Saturday night, and with this carnival season comes a lot of celebration, which oftentimes includes alcohol. 

According to the CDC, in a span of nine years, 3,046 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Louisiana. And the death rate for people killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in this state is higher than the national average.

Trooper Derek Senegal with Louisiana State Police Troop D explains that the consequences of drinking and driving don’t just hit the person responsible, “If you are doing some jail time, your family’s suffering. If you have kids, they’re not going to see you for a while. Then if it’s a fatality involved with that or injury, you’re affecting the lives of that other person, their parents, their kids. So you know, everybody gets affected by that.”

According to Senegal, LSP Troop D saw multiple drunk drivers this weekend. He says that in the coming weeks, those numbers may increase as more people may be tempted to drink and drive during the Mardi Gras season, “Almost every weekend there’s going to be a party going on or a ball. If you’re going to be attending these parties, if you’re going to be consuming alcohol, make the right decision.”