In an instant, Enrique Aguirre of Amarillo lost five members of his family on Dec. 22, 2021. The family was out looking at Christmas lights when their vehicle was hit head-on by an impaired driver who was later sentenced to 45 years in prison for the fatal accident.
Aguirre’s heartbreaking and tragic story is far too common in Amarillo – the problem of impaired driving.
“These things occur, and they occur a lot,” Aguirre said during a media and stakeholder briefing this month at the Harrington Cancer and Health Foundation.
The event, which included Andrea’s Project, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Amarillo Police Department (APD), highlighted the combined efforts of the Amarillo community to help prevent impaired driving.
APD’s participation in this community-wide initiative features the Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit (IDEU), which consists of Unit Commander Sgt. Eric Vaughn and APD officers Chaz Garrison, Micah Heagen, Matthew Dixon and Michael Campbell.
Since debuting in September, this unit (devoted solely to impaired driving enforcement) has made a significant impact.
The numbers tell the story:
- From September 18 to December 17 of 2025, IDEU made 242 arrests for impaired driving. There were 130 arrests by APD in the same time period in 2024.
- From September 18 to December 17 of 2024, APD had 130 impaired driving cases sent for prosecution. Since Sept. 18 of this year (the debut of the IDEU), 242 cases have been sent for prosecution.
- APD made 513 impaired driving arrests in 2024. As of December 17 of this year, APD already had 652 such arrests.
- Since the start of APD’s IDEU on September 18, APD ranks first statewide in LEADRS, an online data reporting system that streamlines the DWI report writing for Texas law enforcement officers. The top three officers in the state rankings are APD officers.
Heagen, a member of the IDEU, was the second officer on the scene on Dec. 22, 2021, when Aguirre lost five members of his family.
“That event was what really motivated me to do this,” Heagen said. “I cannot imagine what it was like to experience that kind of loss. It was, though, what inspired me to make this my mission.”The creation of the APD’s IDEU is but one resource, along with public awareness and organization’s such as Andrea’s Project and TxDOT, that can help prevent the problem of impaired driving in Amarillo.