Holiday Weekend Crashes Up From ’99
For the third consecutive year, there were no fatal traffic incidents on Ventura County roadways during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but authorities said the number of crashes increased by nearly a third.
California Highway Patrol officers responded to 58 crashes in the county between 6 p.m. Wednesday and midnight Sunday, compared with 43 crashes during the same time frame in 1999.
“We attribute that to warm weather and holiday shoppers,” said Officer Dave Webb. “The nicer the weather, the more traffic there will be.”
Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s dominated the long weekend.
In addition to a jump in crashes, 23 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, versus 18 such arrests in 1999. There were 11 crashes involving injuries this year, Webb said.
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