Nine people killed in Labor Day Weekend crashes

The Labor Day Weekend special enforcement counting period is wrapping up Monday night.

So far this holiday weekend, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported nine deaths from crashes statewide. Three of those crashes happened in Mid-Missouri.

Nearly 200 people have been involved in 96 crashes since Friday night when the counting period started, according to the highway patrol.

At at the Lake of the Ozarks, at least 10 people are recovering after six boat crashes. Two drownings have also been reported in the state. That included the death of Cody Rush, 30, of Jefferson City who drowned in the Osage River.

In 2014, there were no drownings the same weekend. But there were more than double the number of this year’s boating crashes.

The highway patrol also kept a close eye on drivers that may be drinking and driving. The highway patrol, Columbia Police Department and Boone County Sheriff’s Department have arrested at least eight people for driving while intoxicated in Columbia over the holiday weekend.

There have been at least 550 deaths on state roads this year, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation. That is 60 more deaths compared to the same time in 2014.