Memorial Day Weekend Traffic Fatalities Up in 2014

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has announced that eight people lost their lives in traffic accidents over the Memorial Day weekend, up from six fatalities in 2013.

"Eight people died over the Memorial Day weekend and not one of them was wearing a seat belt," said Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. "We cannot emphasize it enough: Seat belts save lives. Please buckle up every time you are in a vehicle."

Statewide, 295 traffic crashes took place on Missouri roadways between 6 p.m. on Friday, May 23 and 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 26. In 2013, 279 traffic crashes took place during the holiday counting period.

Sergeant Brent Bernhardt, highway patrol public information and education officer, says that locally, Troop B officers investigated 17 traffic crashes in northeast Missouri, resulting in 15 injuries. There were no fatal accidents in the Troop B region, which consists of 16 northeast counties.

According to Bernhardt, one boating crash that resulted in one injury was also investigated by Troop B. Statewide, there were eight total boating crashes and zero fatalities. 20 people were arrested for boating while intoxicated.

There were no drownings in the state during Memorial Day weekend.