Nine people were killed on state roads over the Labor Day weekend — a 50% drop from the previous year, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Statewide, troopers investigated 523 crashes in addition to those investigated by other police agencies. Though many in Georgia hit the road for the unofficial final weekend of summer, Hurricane Dorian’s path toward the southeastern U.S. may have kept some travelers at home.
Of the nine fatal wrecks, most were outside of metro Atlanta, according to the GSP.
In Bartow County, a 3-year-old boy was killed when the ATV he was riding on crashed and flipped over, according to investigators.
The child, identified as Rhys Howard, was the passenger on a Polaris Ranger driven by a 14-year-old. The younger boy’s parents are Amie Howard, the athletic director at Allatoona High School in Cobb County, and John Howard, the athletic director and an assistant principal at Woodland High School in Bartow County, both districts confirmed.
Troopers in Dalton, Gainesville, Manchester, Swainsboro, Albany and Valdosta also investigated fatal wrecks, along with the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office, according to the State Patrol.
In addition to the traffic crash investigations, 244 people were arrested for driving under the influence, down from 322 over Labor Day weekend in 2018, the State Patrol said. More than 600 citations were issued under the Hands Free Georgia law.
Earlier this year, wrecks claimed the lives of 26 people during the Independence Day holiday weekend — more than the past two years combined, according to police. In May, 17 people were killed on Georgia roads over the Memorial Day weekend — a sharp increase from the eight killed the previous year, according to the State Patrol.
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