Crime & Safety

Labor Day Weekend: Fourteen People Were Killed on Georgia Roads

A Bowman man was among those killed in cars during the Labor Day weekend.

Fourteen people were killed on Georgia roadways over the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to Georgia State Patrol. That number is up from last year, when 13 traffic fatalities were reported.

In the Athens area, the State Patrol investigated a one-vehicle wreck that happened early Saturday morning on Georgia Highway 98, a mile north of Comer. Around 12:45am, a 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was traveling south when it left the road on the west shoulder, struck a culvert with its undercarriage and hit a tree. The truck then rotated and rolled over before coming to rest on its tires.

Killed in the crash was Elbert Foster, 67, from Bowman. No one else was in the vehicle and no other vehicles involved. Foster wasn't waring a seatbelt. Alcohol may have been a contributing factor.

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The Georgia State Patrol this year investigated a total of 443 traffic accidents, which resulted in 10 deaths and 226 injuries. In addition to Athens, fatalities were investigated by GSP posts in Cartersville, Blue Ridge, Manchester, Madison, Dublin, Albany (2), Tifton, and Waycross. 

Additionally, Cobb Co. Police and DeKalb Co. Police reported one fatal accident each and two were reported by Roswell Police, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety's website

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The Labor Day weekend travel period started at 6 p.m. on Friday and ended at midnight on Monday.


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