17 Killed In Thanksgiving Crashes In GA; 425+ Charged With DUI

GEORGIA — The Thanksgiving holiday travel period resulted in the deaths of 17 people and the injuries of nearly 265 people throughout Georgia.

Additionally, more than 425 people were charged on suspicion of driving under the influence, the Georgia State Patrol said in its latest report.

Seventeen fatal crashes occurred this holiday travel period, which began at 6 p.m., Nov. 27, and ended at 11:59 p.m., Dec. 1, the state patrol said.

Of those, troopers responded to eight crashes while local agencies investigated the remainder of the 17.

Police departments in Cobb County, Columbus, DeKalb County, Dougherty County, Lawrenceville, Richmond County, Roswell and Sandy Springs all reported fatal crashes, the GSP said.

In contrast, six more people were killed in Thanksgiving crashes in 2023; however, this year's number of DUI arrests escalated by at least 75.

A breakdown of agency crash fatality reports is as follows, per the state patrol:

In total, more than 540 traffic crashes occurred during this year's Thanksgiving travel period, leaving almost 265 people injured, the GSP said.

More than 22,550 traffic stops were made, and at least 12,040 traffic citations were given - a significant increase from 2023's data.

The number of citations was broken down into nearly 910 seatbelt citations, more than 215 child restraint citations and at least 730 distracted driving citations.

As for warnings, the GSP said this number was more than 17,330 in Georgia.