CRYSTAL BEACH, Texas – Jeep Weekend at Crystal Beach was a scene of chaos as first responders were dispatched to numerous incidents, including 10 major auto-pedestrian crashes, eight major car crashes and 14 minor collisions, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told KPRC 2.
The Houston TV station reported that in addition to 400 calls for service through Friday and Saturday, authorities made 68 arrests, the majority of which were alcohol-related.
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Trochesset told KPRC 2 that at one point, LifeFlight was being used as a regular ambulance because no emergency vehicles were left on the island to respond to calls.
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Jeep Weekend, which is held on the Bolivar Peninsula, is scheduled to run through Sunday. According to an event description, the event draws "thousands of Jeep lovers to Bolivar Peninsula and Crystal Beach ... for a relaxed weekend on the beachfront."
The event, however, has been anything but relaxed for law enforcement.
Trochesset described to KPRC 2 some of the incidents that first responders have been sent to, saying that in one incident, a man fell out of a truck and had to be taken to an area hospital by LifeFlight. In another incident, a woman was transported by LifeFlight to a hospital following a head-on collision. In another chaotic incident, a man fell out of a truck bed and his head was run over, Trochesset said, adding that the man was also transported by Life Flight.
The spike in activity prompted Trochesset to call in the Texas Department of Public Safety for support.