4killedon CT state roads over Fourth of July weekend, police say

Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Jul. 5—The fatal crashes investigated by state police this year occurred in Greenwich, North Canaan, Westbrook and Harwinton, the agency said.

The holiday numbers capture only deaths and other incidents investigated by state troopers, who patrol Connecticut's network of interstate highways, parkways and municipalities served by state police, rather than a local police force.

The number of motor vehicle crashes overall was also up from last year, with 489 reported over the holiday in 2023 compared with 299 in 2022. In 2021, 381 total crashes were reported, up from 271 in 2020.

Of those, 49 crashes in 2023 involved injuries, including two crashes in Stamford and Manchester with serious injuries. In 2022, there were 37 crashes with injuries, in 2021 there were 52, and in 2020 there were 49.

Because of the extended Fourth of July weekend this year, with Independence Day falling on a Tuesday, state police reported statistics for a five-day stretch, from 6 p.m. Thursday through 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday. Numbers from the three years prior comprised a three- or four-day period.

Perhaps reflecting that, the overall number of calls for service was up from previous years, with 7,312 calls overall for service during the 2023 July Fourth holiday. There were 6,463 reported in 2022, 5,390 in 2021, and 6,520 in 2020.

But despite the extended holiday this year, speeding, seat-belt violations and overall traffic violations all fell from the year prior. There were 485 speeding violations in 2023, down from 644 in 2022. Seat-belt violations fell to 18 compared with 43 in 2022, and total violations, a category that includes everything from texting and driving to unsafe lane changes and tailgating, fell to 835 this year, versus 910 in 2022.

State police reported 483 speeding violations in 2021, two seat-belt violationsq and 978 total moving violations. In 2020, there were 279 speeding violations, 12 for seat-belts and 748 overall, the agency's figures show.

Arrests for driving under the influence fell year over year, but DUI numbers have increased in the past two years. In 2023, state troopers made 43 DUI arrests, down from 50 during the 2022 Independence Day holiday. But 2022's figure was nearly double that of the year prior, when there were 26 DU arrests over the 2021 holiday and 29 in 2020.