In this week’s DA Weekly News, District Attorney Summer Stephan highlights a critical public safety issue as we head into the holiday season: the rise in fatal DUI cases across San Diego County. Together, we can prevent more lives from being lost.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office is receiving a $950,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for the twelfth year in a row to prevent and prosecute DUI fatality cases. The grant award comes as the number of San Diego County fatal DUI cases remain on the rise.
In 2024, the DA’s office filed charges against 23 DUI drivers responsible for 28 deaths. So far this year, charges have been filed against 22 DUI drivers responsible for 23 deaths.
“This grant allows our office to continue funding a dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators focused on holding impaired drivers accountable and preventing future tragedies,” DA Stephan said. “Every year, we see far too many lives lost to DUI crashes. As the holiday season approaches, I urge everyone to make responsible choices. Use a rideshare, call a friend, and never let someone drive if they’ve been drinking or using drugs.”
When someone kills another person while DUI, they may be charged with vehicular manslaughter, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, or even second-degree murder, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years to life in prison. The number of second-degree murder cases involving DUI drivers filed by the DA’s office increased this year, in large part due to the number of repeat DUI offenders responsible for these fatalities. In 2025, the DA’s office filed second degree murder charges against 13 DUI drivers. By comparison, in 2024, the DA’s office filed second degree murder charges against only 5 DUI drivers.
The grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will allow the DA’s DUI Homicide Unit to continue its critical work, including education and prevention efforts within the community. The specialized unit, which was launched in 2014, has prosecuted hundreds of cases and has received approximately $6 million in funding from the Office of Traffic Safety.
Funding will also be used to:
In 2024, the District Attorney’s Office filed 4,389 DUI cases, including 280 DUI drug cases. As of October 29, 2025, the DA’s Office has filed 9,405 DUI cases including 426 DUI drug cases this year. Many of these numbers are significant increases from years past.
Funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety is provided through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant program runs through September 2026.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said today her office has seen a notable increase in drivers arrested for driving under the influence of nitrous oxide and that since October 2024, the San Diego County District Attorney’s DUI Homicide Team has noted an uptick in DUI fatality cases involving the use, or suspected use, of nitrous oxide. Inhaling nitrous oxide or “whippets” is a popular drug that creates a euphoric high by cutting off oxygen to the user’s brain.
During an 11-month period, the DA filed charges in three fatality cases involving the use, or suspected use, of nitrous oxide. Comparatively, prosecutors filed no nitrous oxide or suspected nitrous oxide fatality cases the preceding year.
In addition, between October 2024 and September 2025, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Crime Lab received 30 requests for inhalant testing; 29 of those cases involved DUI drivers. Of the 29 cases involving DUI drivers, 18 cases involved traffic collisions, eight cases were felonies, and three of the eight felony cases were fatalities. The numbers reported by the Sheriff’s Crime Lab translate to one suspected inhalant DUI occurring every other week in the county.
“The increase we’re seeing of drivers abusing this drug is extremely concerning and it’s important that we curb this trend before it gets worse,” said DA Stephan. “We’re currently prosecuting three cases that include evidence of DUI drivers believed to have done ‘whippets’ before the separate crashes that killed seriously injured their passengers or other drivers. People need to know that possessing these nitrous oxide canisters with the intention of abusing them is against the law.”
“While users seek a short time high, the practice carries serious long-term risks,” said San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez. “ This growing trend particularly among young people, has been driven by social media promotion, easy access to large-volume containers, and flavored products. I appreciate the District Attorney’s support in these cases and the commitment to bringing dangerous trends to the forefront of our collective discussions.”
According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 13 million Americans have misused nitrous oxide in their lifetime. The CDC reported notable increases in poison center cases, emergency department visits, and EMS responses involving nitrous oxide in 2023. Nitrous oxide is legal to buy and possess for culinary uses (i.e. to create whipped cream) and vehicle repair (i.e. to increase car engine power). Nitrous oxide is also a legal medical sedative used by doctors and dentists. Due to the myriad legitimate uses of nitrous oxide, it is not considered a controlled substance under federal law. However, California has criminalized the use of nitrous oxide for any recreational purpose.
Under Penal Code 381(b): possession of nitrous oxide with intent to breathe, inhale, or ingest for the purpose of causing a condition of intoxication, elation, euphoria, dizziness, excitement, irrational behavior, exhilaration, satisfaction, stupefaction, or dulling the senses or for the purpose of, in any manner, changing, distorting, or disturbing the audio, visual, or mental processes, or who is under the influence of such a substance or material is guilty of a misdemeanor. Unfortunately, proving a DUI driver was abusing nitrous oxide through toxicology testing is difficult because the drug has rapid absorption and elimination rates, leaving a user’s system within a minute or two.
Despite the limited legal uses, smoke, vape, and even sex shops offer cannisters of nitrous oxide that display colorful branding and are offered in flavors like grape, cherry, and blueberry. It is readily apparent that the cannister retailers are abusing a legal loophole and targeting a young population. TikTok influencers in Los Angeles have promoted retailers that sell nitrous oxide products and recently TikTok banned nitrous-related search terms due to the surge in video clips of young people taking hits of the gas before falling on their faces.
In March of this year, the FDA first issued a warning against the inhalation of nitrous oxide products, including “Cosmic Gas” and “Miami Magic,” sold via online retailers like Amazon and at smoke shops or gas stations. In June 2025, the FDA updated its warning to include additional product names like “ExoticWhip” and “Mass Gas” featuring brightly colored canisters evoking psychedelic product packaging akin to many cannabis products.
In response to the growing concern over the recreational misuse of the substance, cities throughout California have begun adopting ordinances to restrict or entirely ban the sale and distribution of nitrous oxide in an effort to hold retailers accountable. The California cities of Los Angeles, Santa Ana and Stanton, and Orange County have all passed ordinances. San Diego does not have such an ordinance in place. In 2017, Rialto, Calif. became the first city in the United States to ban certain sales of nitrous oxide following the death of the mayor’s 17-year-old son in a solo vehicle collision when the driver of the vehicle he was a passenger in inhaled nitrous oxide, passed out, and crashed into a tree.
Inhalant requests received by the Sheriff’s lab are a combination of both requests for nitrous oxide (NOS/whippets/laughing gas) and 1,1-difluoroethane (DFE/dust-off).
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said today that the county has already set a grisly record of 35 people killed in DUI crashes so far this year, representing the most fatal DUIs recorded in 20 years of record keeping.
Last year, despite the decrease in traffic on the roadways due to the ongoing COVID -19 pandemic, San Diego County saw its worst year in over two decades with 30 DUI fatality cases that killed 33 people. This year, there are already 34 such cases with 35 victims. Historically, the county averages between 15 and 20 DUI-related fatalities each year.
In addition, data shows average blood-alcohol levels are also higher than last year – increasing to .18%. Prosecutors say that more than half of individuals being arrested for driving under the influence have both alcohol and drugs in their system—a deadly combination.
“Drivers know the risks and the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, yet it seems more than ever they’re being reckless and putting lives at risk by then they drink, abuse drugs drinking excessively and/or using drugs and then getting behind the wheel,” said DA Summer Stephan. “Prosecuting and investigating these serious cases require a specialized team of prosecutors and investigators, who are working every day to hold offenders accountable and deter this deadly behavior.”
For the eighth year in a row the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office is receiving a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety to prevent and prosecute impaired driving deaths and DUI -drugs. This year’s grant funding total is $530,600. For cases in which someone dies at the hands of a DUI driver – alcohol or drug impairment— the cases are investigated as potential murders, instead of approaching the case as a DUI car crash in which someone died.
Funding from the DUI Prosecution Grant supports the District Attorney’s Office in handling cases through each step of the criminal process. In fatal and major injury DUI vehicle collisions, members of the team may respond to the crash scene in person to assist in the investigation. The program allows the District Attorney to focus specifically on holding those who decide to drive impaired accountable for their dangerous actions. To date, the Office of Traffic Safety has given more than $3.2 million in grants to the DA’s Office. This year, the DA is expanding the grant to include specialized training and prosecution of DUI drug cases.
“Experience and knowledge are critical for prosecutors to build successful impaired driving cases,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “This program provides resources, tools and a strong training network for DUI prosecution teams that hold people who drive under the influence accountable for their actions.”
While fatal DUI crashes continue to increase, non-fatal DUIs have gone down. More than 5,130 DUI-related cases were prosecuted last year, a decrease of about 55% from the 9,400 two years ago. When you include DUI crashes with injuries into the number of fatal crashes, the District Attorney’s Office prosecuted 396 DUI cases with injuries or fatalities – which is a decrease of 12% from the 445 injury crashes of 2019.
As part of the grant and with assistance from the State’s Traffic Safety Resource Program, the DUI Homicide Unit coordinates and participates in DUI prevention and awareness in schools, military bases and colleges. It also provides training to local law enforcement agencies.
“By getting the message out, we are hoping for voluntary compliance from motorists,” said California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Omar Watson. “However, officers will be looking for anyone who is driving impaired and posing a danger on the roadways. As a reminder to the motoring public, don’t drive impaired, have a ride plan or pre-designate a driver, and remember, one bad decision is not worth a lifetime of repercussions.”
The DUI Homicide Unit, which launched in 2014, streamlines complex DUI cases by creating expertise within the DA’s Office. The specialized unit creates uniformity in sentencing among the four adult courthouses. In addition, the unit helps law enforcement adapt to changes in technology by having a designated DA Investigator who is trained in the latest techniques in collision reconstruction. Since its inception, the unit has prosecuted more than 170 cases.
In recent years, California has seen an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes statewide. The District Attorney’s Office supports OTS’ efforts to remind the public that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to be cited for DUI. Marijuana use can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI arrest and conviction.
“In the wake of the deadly increase of DUI and Drug related crashes that result in death, we are calling on all drivers to take a pledge today to not drive after drinking alcohol or consuming drugs including marijuana,” said DA Stephan. “We are also calling on our community to take all reasonable measures to stop anyone from driving under the influence. We will continue to bring stiff accountability for those who harm others through reckless driving under the influence, but the real win is when we can together prevent death and injury in the first place. Grant funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helps us be better, more efficient and increasingly effective in how we handle these challenging cases.”