Four Die in Holiday Traffic Accidents

During the 78-hour travel weekend that began on Friday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. through Monday, Dec. 26 at midnight, there were four fatalities statewide over the Christmas holiday weekend, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

The fatalities over the weekend included two from Cobb County Police, one from Atlanta Police and one from the GSP Post in Washington, a city in Wilkes County, about two hours east of Cumming.

Last year during the Christmas holiday period the Georgia State Patrol (GSP) reported 351 crashes, 280 injuries and three fatalities. Statewide in 2010, with all agencies reporting, there were three fatalities, 641 crashes and 387 injuries reported.

But there is good news. According to statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation last week, 2010 marked the fifth consecutive year that fatalities on Georgia highways were down.

, statistics indicate that the trend also continued in 2011 with Georgia registering 62 less fatalities than for the same period last year.