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State Police See More Crashes, 1 Fatality On Connecticut Roads For Holidays

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- One fatality was reported on Connecticut roads during the State Police Christmas holiday enforcement known as Operation SANTA.

State Police Lt. Paul Vance said Operation SANTA, which ran from midnight Dec. 23 until midnight Dec. 26, saw more accidents and but fewer speeding arrests than in 2013.

Here are the roadway statistics from State Police: 

  • Accidents: 279
  • Accidents with injury: 38
  • Accidents with fatalities: Car hit pedestrian in Beacon Falls 

Here are the moving violations: 

  • DUI arrests: 19
  • Speeding: 243
  • Seatbelt: 13
  • Hazardous Moving violations (following too close, distracted driving, cellphone use, etc.): 706

Troopers observed a high traffic volume over the Christmas holiday, Vance said.

This State Police enforcement effort will continue during the New Year’s Eve holiday celebrations, he said. Troopers will continue to conduct enforcement patrols throughout the state on both highways and secondary roads.

In addition, sobriety checkpoints will also be set up in an effort to deter anyone from drinking alcohol and driving as New Year's Eve celebrations approach.

If you see a suspected drunken driver, State Police ask you to call 911 and immediately report it. 

The time period of the State Police report did not include Sunday, Dec. 28, when a 22-year-old Stratford man was killed after he was thrown from his car in an overnight rollover crash on northbound I-95 in Westport.  

In the crash, Alan J. Alexis was driving in the rightmost lane when he swerved to avoid a car in front of him at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, hitting the back left side of the vehicle and rolling over twice. He was not wearing a seatbelt. 

In another accident not in the State Police numbers, John Compton, a 29-year-old Bridgeport man, was killed in an ATV rollover accident on Turkey Roost Road in Monroe on Saturday, Dec. 27. 

For comparison, for the same time period 2013, here are the State Police statistics:

  • Accidents: 249
  • Accidents with injury 28
  • Accidents with fatalities: 0

The moving violations in 2013, according to state police: 

  • DUI arrests: 18
  • Speeding:  301
  • Seatbelts: 4
  • Hazardous moving violations: 601 

 

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