Holiday Weekend Is Deadliest For Drunken Driving Crashes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- State safety officials say the Fourth of July weekend is the deadliest holiday for drunken driving crashes in Minnesota.

Last year, four people died in crashes involving an intoxicated driver during the holiday weekend and 421 motorists were arrested for drunken driving.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the number of fatalities overall on state roads increased 14 percent in 2015. Four-hundred-11 people lost their lives in crashes, the highest number since 2010. Traffic deaths due to distracted driving increased 21 percent.

The fatality crashes last year involved 61 motorcyclists, 41 pedestrians and 10 people on bikes.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)