Fatalities for the July 4th weekend were down, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The Patrol reported nine fatalities this Fourth of July holiday weekend with 67 percent being OVI-related. Over the 3 ¼ day reporting period, State Troopers arrested 692 impaired drivers and assisted 4,819 motorists.
Last year during the holiday reporting period of 1 ¼ days, 10 people were killed on Ohio roads, with six being OVI-related. State troopers arrested 294 impaired drivers, and assisted 3,332 motorists.
In addition to this year’s traffic enforcement efforts, the Patrol had 32 felony arrests, 127 drug violations and seized five weapons statewide.
3 of the fatal accidents occurred on state and federal highways and 5 on county roads.
4 of the accidents involved motorcycles. Of those where seatbelts were an option, 50% of the those killed were wearing them.
