Memorial Day deaths down from last year

A total of 11 people were killed between Friday evening and Monday night in 10 fatal crashes, slightly less than last year’s total of 16 for the 78-hour period.

Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning said the number could increase slightly if local police departments report more traffic deaths not yet accounted for by the state.

Six people were killed in car accidents, including two that were alcohol-related. Two of the people killed were not wearing safety restraints.

Three motorcyclists were killed including one that was not wearing a helmet, which is required under Tennessee law.

A pedestrian also died and one all-terrain vehicle driver who was not wearing a helmet was killed. Besides the highway deaths over the weekend, two Tennessee men died in ATV accidents in Kentucky.

Two people were killed in separate accidents on Chattanooga’s Hixson Pike over the weekend. Also two people were killed in separate accidents along state Route 91 in northeast Tennessee.

The Department of Safety held about 70 checkpoints over the weekend conducting sobriety and driver’s license checks, Browning said. The number of arrests or tickets written at the checkpoints was not immediately available.