By Staff
EAST LANSING - Michigan State Police confirmed Tuesday that preliminary reports indicate nine people lost their lives in seven separate traffic crashes during the 2005 July 4 holiday weekend.
By comparison, 15 people died in traffic crashes during the 2004 July 4 holiday weekend.
Three of the nine victims were known to have been restrained by safety belts.
Alcohol was a known factor in two of the seven fatal crashes.
The 2005 July 4 holiday weekend ran from 6 p.m. on Friday, July 1, through Monday, July 4.