SOUTH POINT – The numbers have been crunched and this was statistically the safest Labor Day weekend in the last 10 years.

Wednesday, September 05, 2001

SOUTH POINT – The numbers have been crunched and this was statistically the safest Labor Day weekend in the last 10 years.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 11 fatalities in nine crashes were recorded for the state compared to last year’s 13 deaths during the long weekend.

Statewide, troopers arrested 715 DUI offenders and assisted 9,976 motorists.

"We were very fortunate" Lt. Carl Roark, Ironton Post Commander said about the county’s weekend statistics.

This year, troopers in the county wrote 788 citations and made nine DUI arrests. The DUI arrests marks an increase of 40 percent from last year.

Troopers also investigated 11 crashes that yielded two injuries. Last year, troopers in the county wrote 604 citations and investigated 12 auto crashes which left 5 injured.

The Lawrence County post is part of a 10-county district made up of six patrol post with district headquarters in Jackson County. Staff Lt. Dan Gibson said the district itself had a successful weekend because there were no fatal accidents during the Labor Day weekend.

He said the numbers are "outstanding" and the "fact there were no fatal accidents during the reporting period" helped reinforce the patrol’s mission in reducing the number of auto accidents and the number of fatalities on Ohio’s roadways.

Gibson said there was a total of 122 traffic crash investigations with 28 involving injuries and three of the accidents involving alcohol use.

District troopers made 4,691 road arrests with 2,254 speeding citations. Troopers also arrested 83 people driving under the influence.