A crane truck sits overturned after it was struck by a 1998 Dodge Intrepid on Sept. 1. The driver of the Intrepid was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Photo by: Bill Lavallie

More than 56 people have been arrested in the last two months in Amador County for the same charge: Suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

That total comes from arrests made in September and October between the area's three city police departments, the Amador County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol.

The first day of September started on a dark note when 27-year-old Christina Wise died from catastrophic injuries sustained in vehicle accident on Ridge Road. Wise and her fiance, 43-year-old Todd Castaldi, were returning to their residence in Pine Grove from the Jackson Rancheria Casino when Castaldi turned directly into the path of a 40,000-pound Sterling Crane truck, causing the collision that injured him and killed Wise. CHP officers arrested Castaldi on suspicion of DUI. The investigating officer, John Harding, confirmed last week that his department was urging the Amador County District Attorney's Office to prosecute Castaldi for vehicular manslaughter.

After Wise's death, September saw 25 more DUI arrests in Amador County. October saw 30, including two crashes involving children.

The first accident occurred Sept. 28 in Sutter Creek. As noon rolled around and streets through Martell were filling with lunch-time traffic, a school bus came to a stop at the intersection of Highway 49 and Ridge Road. Seconds later a 2003 GMC slammed into the back of it. Though the bus driver and children aboard were unharmed, CHP officers arriving on the scene quickly arrested the driver of the GMC, 48-year-old Catherine Rios of Amador City, for DUI.

Just four days after Rios drove into the school bus, CHP officers found themselves arresting 33-year-old Tiffany Nurse of River Pines for crashing her truck on Sutter-Ione Road. Officers said Nurse was "extremely intoxicated" as she drove her 9-year-old daughter to a soccer game. It was 10:40 a.m. Nurse was also arrested for felony child endangerment.

CHP officer Craig Harmon feels it's difficult to know what direction the fall DUI numbers are trending toward. "Right now I think the amount of DUI arrests is about equal to last year, overall," Harmon said. "We are expecting to see the DUIs in December climb above what we had in September and October. The Christmas season is always busy in terms of drinking and driving. However, they may not be higher than last December. It's hard to say."