Traffic wrecks responsible for 20 deaths during Labor Day Holiday

Traffic crashes across Georgia during the Labor Day holiday travel period resulted in 20 traffic deaths, according to preliminary Georgia Department of Public Safety numbers.

The holiday travel period began Friday, September 1, at 6 p.m., and ended Monday, September 4, at 11:59 p.m.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety issued the first holiday traffic fatality report on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., at which time there had already been five fatalities, including the death of Lacitrus Gholston in a crash Friday evening in Stephens County near the intersection of the Hwy. 17 Bypass and Mize Road.

According to reports, Gholston crossed into an oncoming lane of traffic and collided with a truck carrying four individuals. Gholston, who was reportedly traveling at a “high rate of speed” and not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The driver and passengers of the truck were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where they were treated for injuries and discharged from the hospital the next morning.

Statewide, seven GSP Posts reported responding to one traffic death over the holiday travel period, including Post 48/Atlanta; Post 37/Cumming, Post 33/Milledgeville, Post 32/Athens, Post 25/Grovetown and Post 7/Toccoa. 

Post 27, Blue Ridge responded to two roadway fatalities over the 54-hour period.

The twelve traffic deaths handled by local agencies during the holiday period included one by the Atlanta Police Department, one by the South Fulton Police Department, four by the Dekalb Police Department and six by the Gwinnett County Police Department. 

Five of the six fatalities handled by the Gwinnett Police Department occurred as a result of one incident. 

On Monday at approximately 4 a.m, Gwinnett County Police officers responded to reports of a collision between two vehicles on a raised ramp on State Route 316, resulting in one vehicle going over the wall of the ramp and falling approximately 50 feet onto the I-85 southbound Collector-Distributor road leading to Pleasant Hill Rd. 

The Gwinnett County Police Department’s Accident Investigation Unit is actively investigating the accident.  

Initial reports from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources identify one death on Georgia lakes during the holiday weekend, as well as four Boating Under the Influence citations and 2 boating incidents. 

The  fatality occurred on Lake Lanier when a 23-year old man was running on a dock at a marina, slipped, and fell into the water. He did not resurface. This was the eighth drowning this year on Lake Lanier. 

Georgia DNR and the Georgia Department of Public Safety/GSP are expected to release final reports for the Labor Day weekend early this week. WNEG will provide updated information as it becomes available.