Holiday Traffic Deaths Rise
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Traffic deaths on the state’s roads during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend increased over the toll from last year’s holiday, with more than half blamed on drivers and passengers not wearing seat belts, California Highway Patrol officials said Tuesday.
Forty-nine people died in crashes between Wednesday evening and Sunday night. Last year, the number was 39.
The last time there were more deaths over the Thanksgiving weekend was 1997, when 54 people died in traffic.
Of this year’s total, 29 deaths occurred in unincorporated areas patrolled by the CHP. Eighteen of those people were not strapped in, the CHP said.
“The thing that concerns us more than anything else is that [most] of the vehicle occupants killed [in unincorporated areas] were not wearing safety belts,” said CHP headquarters spokesman Officer Steve Kohler.
CHP officials said arrests over the weekend for driving under the influence totaled 1,444. Last year’s figure was 1,278.
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