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DeKalb traffic fatalities double in 2013
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Lisa Fineis, 53, of Alexandria perished in this one-car wreck on Highway 70 between Dowelltown and Liberty in August. - photo by Photo by Reed Vanderpool
While the Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that the Cookevile district, which includes DeKalb County, enjoyed a decrease in traffic fatalities compared to last year, DeKalb County’s fatal traffic accidents last year doubled from 2012.The THP’s traffic fatalities report for the year shows that six people died in DeKalb County traffic accidents in 2013, while only three motorists lost their lives in the county in 2012.Jacob Billings, 14, became the first fatality of 2013 when he perished in a bicycle crash on Casey's Cove Road.Joshua Jernigan, 29, of Mount Juliet died when his motorcycle collided with a guardrail on Dale Ridge Road in June.Haskel Hawkins, Jr. 69 was claimed by a one-car crash on Short Mountain Highway in July.Lisa Fineis, 53, of Alexandria perished in a one-car wreck on Highway 70 between Dowelltown and Liberty in August.Michael J. Dean, 61, was declared dead after being thrown from his vehicle on Four Seasons Road in September.Mildred Spencer, 82, died after a two-car crash on Highway 53 in Alexandria in December.According to Clint Shrum of the Governor's Highway Safety Office, the Cookeville District experienced a decrease in fatalities in 2013, with 81 total, five less than 2012.“Statewide we are down 27 fatal crashes, and under 1,000 for only the third time in 50 years,” Schrum said. “In 2009 we had 946 and in 2011 we had 986. Cannon County’s fatalities were cut in half from the previous year, with four in 2012 and two in 2013.Putnam County had eight traffic fatalities in both 2012 and 2013, while Warren suffered 14 fatalities both years.Smith County’s traffic fatalities jumped from three in 2012 to eight in 2013, while White County had six fatalities in 2012 and seven in 2013.