COLUMBUS – According to provisional statistics, nine people were killed on Ohio’s roadways this Thanksgiving holiday. During the five-day reporting period, from Wednesday, November 25 at midnight through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 29, nine people were killed in nine fatal crashes. In 2019, there were 15 fatal crashes in which 18 people were killed.

Of the nine killed, two were pedestrians, four were not wearing a seat belt, and two involved impaired driving.

Troopers arrested 298 people for operating a vehicle while impaired and 193 for drugs. Troopers also issued 944 safety belt and 146 distracted driving violations. Throughout the holiday reporting period, troopers also assisted 2,135 motorists.

According to last years statistics crashes were only down 2.7% from 2019, OVI arrests were down 23.8%, but distracted driving increased by 64%. Counties in the southern Ohio region who experienced deaths were Hocking, Fairfeild, Green, Warren, and Adams counties.