OHIO, USA — Thousands and thousands of Ohioans hit the road over the long Christmas holiday weekend, but some of them did not make it home.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said provisional statistics show that the state recorded the fewest number of fatalities in crashes during the Christmas weekend in five years.
OSHP reports that nine people were killed in eight fatal crashes on Ohio roadways, resulting in the fewest deaths during a Christmas reporting period since 2018.
The four-day reporting period started on Dec. 22 at midnight and ended on Dec. 25 at 11:59 p.m.
In comparison, there were 12 people killed during the 2022 Christmas holiday, which ran from December 23 to 26.
"While these numbers were better than years past and the best since 2018, the fact of the matter is we still lost people's lives on our roadways here in Ohio, and some of those people were involved in impaired driving and not wearing a safety belt," OSHP Sgt. Ryan Purpura said.
Of the nine people killed, five were not wearing a seat belt and impairment was a factor in two of the crashes.
Often times our troopers arrive on these scenes and we do see something that is preventable, and getting behind the wheel impaired or not buckling up is certainly a preventable act," Purpura said.
During the reporting period, troopers arrested 213 people for operating a vehicle while impaired and 21 for illegal drugs. Troopers also issued citations for 228 safety belts and 75 distracted driving violations. Additionally, troopers assisted 1,049 motorists on Ohio roadways.
With a holiday known for partying just down the road, Purpura urges everyone to plan ahead to line up a sober driver for New Year's Eve or use a ride-share service.
"We want people to have fun with their families, their loved ones, their friends, but we don't want those memories to turn to tragedy where somebody makes a choice to get behind the wheel impaired and takes their own life or somebody else's life or hurts themselves or somebody else on our roadways," he said.
Purpura also said the warm weather meant better driving conditions this year.
The public is encouraged to continue using #677 to report dangerous or impaired drivers, as well as drug activity.