Thirteen people died in crashes investigated by Pennsylvania State Police  over the four day Memorial Day weekend.   The statistics are about the same as last year; 13 deaths in just over 800 crashes. One thing that is frustrating to police is that 9 of those who died were not wearing seatbelts.

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan says ” the tragic message from these statistics is very clear: everyone needs to buckle up for every trip on the road.”

Troopers cited more than 11 hundred people for not wearing seatbelts and issued over 100 citations for not securing children in safety seats over the four day weekend. They also issued over 92 hundred speeding citations and arrested 404 people for driving under the influence. 66 of the crashes, including three of the fatalities, were alcohol-related.

A “Click it or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement campaign continues through June 10th.  Pennsylvania has a primary seatbelt law for drivers and passengers under age 18. The law is a secondary offense for older drivers and front seat passengers.

The numbers only include crashes handled by state police and do not include accidents covered by other law enforcement agencies.