November 27, 2019 to December 1, 2019 was a dangerous time to be on the road in Mississippi. The Mississippi Highway Patrol reports a total of ten fatalities and forty-nine injuries during that time. In those same few days, the Mississippi Highway Patrol also issued nearly seven thousand traffic citations and arrested ninety-five people suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The ten fatalities and forty-nine injuries that occurred on Mississippi roads during the Thanksgiving holiday period are the results of one hundred and eighty-five motor vehicle wrecks that happened during the five days mentioned earlier in this article. While some of the wrecks occurred during the late-night and early morning hours, many of the accidents the Mississippi Highway Patrol investigated happened during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
Many different kinds of accident scenarios occurred during the Thanksgiving travel period, and all sorts of vehicles, from passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs to tractor-trailers, were involved in crashes during that time. The ages of the drivers involved in the wrecks vary widely. The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating all of the accidents, and they have reported on some of them.
At least four of the fatal accidents were single-vehicle wrecks where the vehicle left the roadway. In one of those crashes, the driver of the vehicle was ejected and died at the accident scene. In three of the four fatal, single-vehicle accidents detailed in one report from the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the vehicle collided with a tree after leaving the roadway. In the fourth crash, the car left the road and flipped several times before coming to a stop.
At least two of the fatal wrecks that happened during the holiday travel period were head-on collisions. In both situations, one vehicle was traveling northbound while another was traveling southbound. In both cases, one vehicle left its lane and entered into the path of the other vehicle, hitting it head-on.
One of the fatal holiday season accidents involved a motorcycle. The person riding the motorcycle was ejected from it when a vehicle struck the motorcycle from behind. Another crash involved two vehicles that were traveling the same direction but in different lanes. The vehicles made contact with each other, and the impact sent one of the vehicles off of the road. Pedestrian accidents can happen any time of year, including the holidays. A man was hit and killed by a pickup truck while he was walking alongside the interstate.
Motor vehicle accidents can take many different forms, and all kinds of accidents are more likely to happen when the roads are crowded. Roads in Mississippi and elsewhere are more dangerous during peak travel time, such as holidays. The statistics regarding holiday travel accidents are concerning, but many wrecks can be avoided by preparedness and caution. Holiday travel can be an excellent way to connect with the people you love, so take extra care to ensure that you arrive at your destination safely. Be sure to plan extra time into your trip for rest breaks and traffic. Stay alert and maintain a constant awareness of what is going around you, because traffic can be unpredictable. If you were hurt in a Mississippi automobile accident during the holidays or at any other time of the year, call the Mississippi Automobile Accident attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577.