Travel this week expected to inch toward pre-pandemic numbers, state police release Christmas weekend stats

More than 5.4 million motorists are expected to take to the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Christmas and New Year’s Day, inching toward pre-pandemic numbers, officials said.

Projections call for 460,000 turnpike motorists on New Year’s Eve and 350,000 on New Year’s Day.

Over the Christmas weekend, state police across the region investigated 50 crashes, none of which was fatal, according to data released this week.

Twelve people were hurt and alcohol was involved in eight of the crashes, according to data for Westmoreland, Allegheny and most of the six other surrounding counties.

A motorcycle crash Friday afternoon closed one lane of Route 30 for about 45 minutes, officials said at the time.

Troopers also investigated a crash in Fayette County on Christmas Day, according to a police report.

In addition to crashes reported over the weekend, 31 people were charged with DUI. There were 174 speeding citations issued across the region.

Statewide, 488 crashes were reported between Dec. 24-26, four of which were fatal. In all, six people were killed and 90 were injured across the state, data show.

There were 41 alcohol-related crashes, one of which was fatal. A total of 2,728 citations were issued, including 181 DUI arrests and 1,131 tickets for speeding, state police said.