Georgia Releases Final July 4 Highway Death Figures

ATLANTA -- An extra-long July 4 holiday weekend resulted in 26 highway deaths this year, according to figures released Monday by the Georgia Department of Public Safety. This year, the holiday travel period was 102 hours long, beginning at 6 pm on Wednesday, July 3, and ending at 11:59 pm on Sunday, July 7.

Last year, the July 4 holiday travel period was 30 hours, and resulted in five traffic deaths.

This year, Georgia state troopers investigated 513 traffic crashes resulting in 307 injuries, and 17 fatalities. In addition to the traffic crash investigations, 422 people were arrested for driving under the influence, while 12,554 citations and 16,846 warnings were issued.

Last year, troopers investigated 131 traffic crashes that resulted in 59 injuries. Troopers also arrested 118 people for driving under the influence.