Holiday Weekend Traffic Wrecks Kill 17 in Georgia

Authorities say 17 people were killed in traffic wrecks over the holiday weekend.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety reported six traffic deaths during the same period last year.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the fatalities started Saturday when state troopers attempted to stop a Honda Civic in the Buford area. Investigators suspect the driver was fleeing from a sobriety checkpoint. The 27-year-old motorist, Brittany Therese Tucker, lost control and died in the crash.

Police say a Peachtree City man died Saturday at the scene of a two-vehicle wreck in Coweta County just before 10 p.m. Later that afternoon, a 24-year-old man died in a single-vehicle crash after his vehicle went off the road and hit a tree.

A Saturday afternoon wreck involving seven vehicles killed a 39-year-old woman from Lawrenceville.