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Published on Wednesday, June 2, 2004
in the Leesburg Daily Commercial
LEESBURG
Though a Lake County Sheriff’s Office sergeant called it the busiest weekend he had seen, Lake and Sumter counties did not see any traffic fatalities this Memorial Day weekend, law enforcement officials reported Tuesday.
They got off easy. Florida Highway Patrol troopers Kim Miller and L. E. Coggins Jr. reported 28 traffic-related deaths in Troop D’s six counties and seven deaths in Troop C’s seven counties for the period between 12:01 a.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday.
Miller said the FHP reported no traffic-related deaths in Lake County. Troopers charged two people with driving under the influence and issued 52 speeding tickets and 27 seat belt tickets, she said.
Miller said out of the 28 deaths — which she called a preliminary number — 12 percent were alcohol-related and 71 percent were related to not wearing seat belts.
“Another big jump in that one from last year,” she said, referring to the seat-belt related fatalities. However, it is unclear if the 9 motorcyclist, bicyclist, and pedestrian deaths that weekend count toward the non-seat-belt total.
In the six counties, troopers issued 1,125 speeding tickets, 253 seat belt tickets and 41 child-restraint tickets. “That’s a huge number,” she said, referring to child-restraint tickets. They charged 21 people with driving under the influence and helped 350 drivers with car trouble.
Coggins wrote in a statement that the Troop C — which covers Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties — recorded seven fatalities, none of which were in Citrus, Sumter, or Pinellas counties.
In the seven counties combined, Coggins wrote, FHP troopers arrested 39 drivers for driving under the influence and gave 998 speeding tickets, 293 seat belt tickets, and 32 child restraint tickets. Troopers also aided 479 drivers experiencing car trouble, according to Coggins.
Local statistics from Sumter County authorities were not available. A dispatcher at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said he did not know of any fatalities that weekend.
According to Lake County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Lt. Todd Luce, the agency’s Special Enforcement Bureau had an “aggressive drivers and boaters operation” Memorial Day weekend.
“This was aggressive patrol, enhanced patrol, and this is as they came across them out in the field,” Luce said, although he said no roadblocks were used. “We don’t participate in those,” he said.
“The operation was a true success due to the fact that there were no reported vehicle tragedies or boating tragedies on Lake County highways nor the waterways,” Luce wrote in a statement.
Two boating under the influence arrests were made, and deputies gave out 55 written warnings and 46 citations to boaters, as well as conducting 323 safety checks, according to Luce.
Luce reported two motorists were arrested for driving under the influence, 42 were given citations, 30 received written warnings, and 25 were warned verbally by deputies.
“Sgt. Sam Hart of the Special Enforcement Unit stated that this was the busiest weekend he has seen in his career with the unit,” Luce wrote.
Lake Sumter Emergency Medical Services reported no traffic fatalities Tuesday, nor did numerous law enforcement agencies in both counties.
According to Miller, Memorial Day was the “second deadliest weekend” for vehicle fatalities, beat only by Thanksgiving weekend. However, Troop C’s 2004 preliminary total of 28 vehicle fatalities is lower than last Memorial Day weekend, when troopers reported 46 traffic deaths in the six counties.