Holiday weekend fatal crashes down

VW independent staff

COLUMBUS — Figures released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol show 17 people were killed in traffic crashes during the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, a sharp decrease from the same time period in 2023, when 26 people lost their lives.

The crashes included a triple fatality in Scioto and a double fatality in Montgomery County. The highway patrol five of those killed in the overall number of crashes were operating a vehicle under the influence. Four people were not wearing a seat belt and four motorcycle riders killed were reported as either “not wearing a helmet or unknown if they were wearing a helmet.”

Over the recent Memorial Day weekend period, the highway patrol made 361 OVI arrests, 61 drug arrests, issued more than 1,000 distracted driving citations and more than 2,600 seat belt citations.