17 dead in traffic accidents in Ohio on Memorial Day weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol released its statistics for the Memorial Day weekend, reporting 14 fatal crashes.

Seventeen people were killed in these accidents. There was one accident in Montgomery County with two fatalities and one in Scioto County with three fatalities. One fatal accident occurred in Columbus, two more near Cincinnati and two near Cleveland.

Five of those killed in the crashes between Friday and Monday were driving while intoxicated, officials said. Four of the dead were not wearing seat belts, and four motorcyclists killed were reportedly either “not wearing a helmet or it is unknown if they were wearing a helmet.”

The death toll in Ohio crashes this Memorial Day weekend was lower than in 2023, when 26 people were killed. Highway patrol has reported a decrease in the number of fatal crashes over several recent holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

This past Memorial Day weekend, officers arrested 361 people for drunk driving and 61 for drugs, issued over 1,000 tickets for distracted driving and over 2,600 tickets for not wearing a seatbelt. Of the more than 29,000 incidents reported over the holiday weekend, Franklin County had by far the most, with over 1,200.