Posted on 06/01/2005 5:38:29 AM PDT by Libloather
Deadliest Memorial Day weekend in Georgia history
May 30, 2005
Albany-- It's after 4 p.m. on Monday and only a few more hours left of the Memorial Day weekend.
"It's crunch time. We've got to get the word out to everybody to slow down, buckle up, don't be in a rush these last few hours," says Sergeant Jamie Sullivan of Georgia State Patrol. Law enforcement officials are still hitting the roads pretty strong.
"The increased volume of traffic of course we need to increase the volume of troopers on the highway," says Sullivan. Holiday weekends are when they see the highest number of crashes, injuries, and crash-related deaths.
"Throughout the state, right now we're up to 29 reported fatalities and that's well over the predicted number of 17," says Sullivan. 29 fatalities is already a Memorial Day record. That's more fatalities than any year since the state started keeping the numbers in 1969 and Sergeant Jamie Sullivan fears those numbers will increase even more by the end of the day.
"I don't want that to happen but there's a good possibility that the numbers could be higher," says Sullivan. So officials are doing what they can to prevent any more problems by focusing on three main things. "Speeding, no seatbelts, and drinking and driving," says Sullivan.
These are things they feel are the cause of many of the deaths. By six p.m. Sullivan's fears came true. Five more fatalities occurred on Georgia's roads.
"I have to deal with the families and what do I tell them? What can I tell them? How can I comfort that family that lost a sibling, a mother, brother, sister to a drunk driver? How do you justify that?," says Sullivan.
He says that he can't but what he can do is try his best to make sure the roads are safe. All he can do is pray that at the end of the day, he's made a difference.
"Yes, at the end of the shift we hope we made it different for some family and hope we saved some lives but I tell you this honestly, in the morning I start over again," says Sullivan.
Sixteen of the fatalities so far were caused by six crashes.
feedback: news@walb.com
I suspect that more Americans died in auto accidents this Memorial Day weekend than died in Iraq and Afghanistan in these two years.
Georgia's a quagmire...we need to pull our troops out as soon as possible.
So the answer is what; federally mandated governors on auto engines, radio-signal controlled from transmissions from the speed signs; federally mandated in-car breatholizers connected to the ignition; federally mandated felony wraps for not buckling your-lone-self up????? And when someone still dies on the highways, will they install speed bumps and guard rails on every lane??
People do dumb things, make stupid mistakes and sometimes die from their dumb stupid actions, and sometimes cause someone else to die with them. And yet it all must be someone else's fault - especially the government!!!! NOT.
They don't say what the causes of the creashes are but I'd suspect it was speeding. People drive far too fast any more. I'm not an old fogey but the way some drive is jsut juvenile. There are lots of these little tin can cars that are going 80 mph or more and the 18 wheelers scare the hell out of me.
Yeas, get them bluebelly yankees oda here right quick!
EXACTLY what I was thinking when I saw the headline!
People are dying every day! Pull Out!
(I blame Booosh!)
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