Ohio State Highway Patrol: Crashes, felony arrests up this Thanksgiving holiday

COLUMBUS — Provisional numbers released today by the Ohio State Highway Patrol indicate that crashes and felony arrests increased this year, while the number of operating a vehicle while impaired-arrests decreased over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

During the holiday reporting period, which began at 6 p.m. Nov. 25 and ran through Sunday, troopers arrested 20 people for felonies, as compared to 17 last year. Crash numbers rose from 469 crashes in 2008 to 590 this year, an increase of 26 percent. OVI arrests decreased from 362 last year’s holiday to 304 this year.

A full report of patrol enforcement over the holiday weekend is available on the patrol’s Web site at www.statepatrol.ohio.gov.