Minnesota recorded its lowest number of traffic-related fatalities over a Labor Day weekend in the past five years with one fatal accident recorded between 6 p.m. Aug. 29 and 6 a.m. Sept. 2, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Labor Day weekend is among the most dangerous times to be on the road, and over the past five years an average of five people have died during the 78-hour period around the holiday. Four people died in 2013, five in 2012, six in 2011, five in 2010, two in 2009 and four in 2008.
This would have been the first time since Minnesota started keeping crash data in 1970 that nobody died on Labor Day weekend. The fatal crash that weekend involved Angela J. Pangelinan, 48, of Moorhead, who was injured in a motorcycle crash on Aug. 30 on Interstate 94 in Clay County and died six days later, the State Patrol said.
The number of drunken driving arrests also was down. Preliminary reports from 413 agencies show that 1,340 motorists were cited during a DWI enforcement campaign from Aug. 16 through Labor Day. That compared with 1,556 in 2013 and 1,872 in 2012.
"Fewer motorists getting arrested for impaired driving is a sign that more people are making safer choices behind the wheel," said Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske.
In Minnesota, drivers with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher can be arrested for DWI. During the two-week sweep, five motorists who were arrested had a BAC of .3 percent or higher, officials said.
Men made up most of those tagged for drunken driving, but it's becoming more common for women to be arrested. Last year, 25 percent of incidents involved women, up from just 5 percent 10 years ago.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
