State Police: 8 Deaths, 70 DUIs Over Memorial Day Weekend

RICHMOND, VA – Eight people were killed in car crashes over Memorial Day weekend, according to Virginia State Police, which is slightly fewer crash-related deaths than were reported in the previous two years.

Over the holiday weekend, traffic was reduced on Virginia's highways, according to police, which is likely due to the stay-at-home order and coronavirus-related restrictions in place as the state slowly reopens.

State Police began counting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and stopped counting at midnight on Monday. During that time, state police officers responded to 480 crashes. Troopers cited 2,489 reckless drivers and arrested 70 impaired drivers during the holiday weekend. During the same period in 2019, state police cited 2,548 reckless drivers and arrested 75 impaired drivers.

The fatal crashes happened in the city of Virginia Beach and in Caroline, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, Prince William, Rockingham, Southhampton and Sussex counties.

Of the eight people killed, two people were riding motorcycles and one pedestrian pushing his bicycle when he was struck and killed in Sussex County.

"Even though we are thankful for the slight decrease in traffic fatalities over the Memorial Day weekend, eight deaths are still too many," said Colonel Gary T Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, in a prepared statement.

Settle said it is concerning to him to see reckless driving citations and DUI arrests were pretty much the same as last year, even though there were significantly fewer drivers on the road this year.

"Fewer drivers should have demonstrated a significant decline in the number of citations and traffic deaths," he said. "Sadly, that was not the case and too many motorists were putting too many lives at risk due to reckless choices and deadly driving behaviors."