Fatalities and drunken driving arrests were up this Christmas season, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
From 6 p.m. Friday until just before midnight on Sunday, state troopers investigated 213 crashes, which included two of the three fatalities and 67 injuries. Fifty-six people were arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Last year, troopers investigated 487 crashes, including one of two fatalities and 122 injuries, and arrested 51 people for impaired driving.
This year's fatalities were:
- Kenneth W. Williams, 58, who was killed on Dec. 23rd as he was walking westbound on High St. in Springfield, Mo. The driver of the vehicle in the crash was not injured. Springfield police investigated Mr. Williams' death.
- Nancy R. Feldmeier was killed on Christmas Day when she lost control of her vehicle on Mo. Highhway 133 in Pulaski County. Feldmeier, 41, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
- Donna K. Miller was also killed on Christmas Day when she lost control in a curve and crossed the center line on Mo. Highway 7 in Camden County. The 59-year-old Miller was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver in the car Miller struck sustained severe injuries - a passenger was moderately injured. Both were wearing seatbelts.
