The California Highway Patrol says there have been 18 traffic deaths in the state from the beginning of the July Fourth holiday period Thursday evening through 6 a.m. today.
During that 36-hour period ten of the deaths occurred in California Highway Patrol jurisdiction. Eight of those vehicle occupants killed were not wearing seat restraints.
A year ago during the 1 1/2 days of the Fourth of July period, there were 15 deaths compared to the 18 reported this year.
Also higher is the number of arrests for driving under the influence. They rose from 730 last year to 837 DUI arrests during the first 36 hours of this holiday period.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 4:51 pm