LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – It was a more dangerous motoring Christmas holiday in Michigan this year.
State police officials announced today that 10 persons lost their lives in nine separate traffic incidents during the 2018 Operation C.A.R.E. (Crash Awareness and Reducation Efforts) Lifesaver weekend, which ran from 12 Midnight on December 21st through 12 Midnight December 24th. This compares to four fatalities in four separate crashes 12 months earlier. Of the 10 fatalities, four were pedestrians, three of the fatal crashes involved alcohol, and four of the occupants were either not wearing seat belts or restraint use was unknown.
Even though the initiative was titled “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” the message apparently wasn’t getting through in Ottawa County, according to Sheriff Steve Kempker. “We’ve been running our special patrols here over the past couple of weeks with the grant money from the state,” he said during an appearance on “WHTC Morning News” today. “I walked in (to the department’s offices at the Fillmore Street Administrative Campus) this past weekend, looked in the mail room and saw a stack of blood kits. I knew right away that we had several drunk driving arrests over the weekend and into the holidays.”
None of the fatalities occurred in Ottawa County, and state officials told Kempker that increased traffic volumes, due to milder weather conditions and lower fuel prices, apparently was to them the biggest factor in the higher fatality rates statewide.
Extra patrols will remain on Michigan roads through the end of the holiday period on Thursday morning.
