Highway Patrol reports 4 people died on state highways over the holiday weekend

The preliminary traffic crash numbers for the New Year holiday counting period are in from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Between December 31st and January 3rd, troopers investigated a total of 458 traffic crashes, which resulted in 97 people being injured and 4 fatalities. 81-year-old Barbara Pitcock of Carthage died on December 31st, 48-year-old Scott Ford of Kansas City and 21-year-old Jerod Gerster of Nevada died in crashes on January 1st, and 50-year-old Danny Evans of Cuba died on January 2nd. The statistics were up from 2020; during the 30-hour New Year’s 2020 counting period, there were 323 traffic crashes statewide. In those crashes, one person was killed and another 140 were injured.
During this year’s holiday counting period, the Highway Patrol arrested 135 people for driving while intoxicated, which was more than double the number in 2020.