Record low for holiday road deaths in Georgia

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Four people were killed and more than 600 injured in traffic accidents this holiday weekend, a record low for fatalities, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

One more person was killed in a boating accident, state officials said.

The state kept a tally of the figures here.

There were 2,547 crashes with 637  injuries and four fatalities on the roads.

For the holiday weekend, which began at 6 p.m. Friday and ended at midnight Monday, officials predicted 15 fatalities and 696 injuries resulting from 1,972 crashes.

A 4-year-old boy was killed Saturday afternoon when he was pinned between an SUV and a house in the 3400 block of Kingwood Run in DeKalb County. A Chevrolet Suburban parked at the top of the driveway shifted into neutral and rolled back, pinning the child. Police continue to investigate.

Other fatalities were reported in Cuthbert, in southwest Georgia, in Albany and in Villa Rica.

Last year, there were 2,430 crashes resulting in 1,126 injuries and 16 deaths.

Officials said this year's four fatalities marked a record low for Memorial Day weekend traffic deaths, fewer than the 10 fatalities recorded in 1979 and 2007.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported one boating fatality and six injuries from boating incidents, and three drownings across the state.

The one boating death happened Monday when 38-year-old Dawn Piper fell from a boat near Tybee Island and was struck by a boat propeller.

Staff writers Mike Morris, Marcus K. Garner and Ty Tagami contributed to this article.