Seventeen people died in car, motorcycle, and ATV crashes over the holiday weekend and three apparent drownings are being investigated.
At least seven of the people who died in car accidents were not wearing a seat belt.
Two of the accidents accounted for eight of the deaths, which a police spokesman said is unusual.
A crash at the Highway 40 (Interstate 64) interchange at Kingshighway killed three men; Lydell Templeton, 43, of St. Louis, Michael J. Helm, 20, of St. Louis, and Tyrone Cain II, 40. An accident in western Missouri killed Jason Rittermeyer, 32, his girlfriend, and three children.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to 358 accidents over the weekend and arrested 199 people for drunken driving. Over a shorter holiday period in 2012, there were 384 accidents in Missouri, and four people died from crashes.Â
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The numbers come from a Highway Patrol press release counting incidents from 6 p.m. on Wednesday to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. Last year's holiday numbers were counted over a shorter, 30-hour period because July 4 fell in the middle of the week.
Read the full news release, view a map of fatal incidents here.
By the numbers:
2013
- 20 people diedÂ
- The Highway Patrol responded to 358 traffic accidentsÂ
- 157 people were injured in automobile crashes
- 199 people were arrested for drunk driving
- 17 boating crashesÂ
- 11 people were injured in boat incidents
- 17 people were arrested for drunken boating
