Accidents Kill at Least 45 on Roads
Traffic accidents killed at least 45 people in California from the start of the Memorial Day holiday weekend until early Monday, the California Highway Patrol said.
The total, which covered the period from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday, was two more than in the same period in 1989.
CHP officials said about half of the holiday traffic deaths can be traced to drivers who drank, despite enforcement efforts that netted 2,322 arrests, up from 2,105 reported last year.
An allegedly drunk pickup-truck driver was blamed for running a stop sign early Sunday in western Fresno County, causing the deaths of his four passengers, including a girl about 8, in the single mishap involving the most fatalities.
In the San Diego area, a motorist celebrating his 22nd birthday and suspected to be drunk was killed in an auto accident in La Jolla that left five passengers injured Sunday afternoon, police said Monday.
In Los Angeles and Orange counties, where about 50 law enforcement agencies joined forces in a massive program to keep drunk drivers off the streets, at least 14 people were killed.
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