Georgia’s highways turned deadly this Labor Day holiday. Between Friday evening and late Monday night, 15 people were killed in crashes across the state, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

Nine of those crashes, claiming 10 lives, were investigated by Georgia State Patrol troopers. Local agencies—including the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, and DeKalb County Police—handled four other crashes with five additional fatalities.

The weekend was busy for law enforcement beyond fatal crashes. Troopers responded to more than 280 wrecks that left at least 150 people injured. They also conducted more than 19,500 traffic stops. Out of those stops, officers arrested 425 drivers for DUI, cited more than 700 people for distracted driving, and issued over 1,000 seat belt violations. Another 200 citations were given for improper child restraints.

Where the fatalities happened:

  • North Georgia saw some of the heaviest losses, with four deaths tied to crashes in Hall County and surrounding areas.
  • Metro Atlanta reported five fatalities, including cases handled by DeKalb County law enforcement.
  • Additional deaths were recorded in Cartersville, LaGrange, Villa Rica, Forsyth, Rincon, and Thomasville.

Labor Day is traditionally one of the most dangerous travel weekends in the U.S. In Georgia, the combination of high traffic volume, impaired driving, and distracted driving continues to fuel deadly outcomes.

Drunk driving in the peach state is still a problem with only a minor decrease in citations from last year when DUI arrests over the Labor Day Weekend were 480. In the era of Uber and about a half dozen other ride-sharing apps, drivers are still making avoidable and dangerous choices on Georgia’s roads.

B.T. Clark
Publisher at 

B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.