HALL COUNTY, Ga. - Before public safety officials stood behind a podium at Lanier Islands resort on Monday, at least two Georgians had already drowned and seven died on Georgia roads during Memorial Day Weekend.
First, the Department of Natural Resources reported a 5-year-old drowned when witnesses told police they were playing on a float on Allatoona Lake. On Sunday, a 20-year-old man drowned at Margaritaville on Lake Lanier, not far from where officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Public Safety.
The goal was to increase awareness of traffic crashes and drownings on Memorial Day Weekend. Law enforcement will take a zero-tolerance attitude enforcing traffic laws and removing dangerous drivers. Game wardens will patrol waterways throughout the state, checking for impaired boaters and counting life jackets.
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In 2021, there were 83 waterway deaths Department of Natural Resources Major Stephen Adams said. This year, there have been 25 deaths, including the two drownings on Saturday and Sunday.
"These were tragic incidents, but I would argue that most if not all were avoidable," Adams said.
Adams said everyone on a vessel should have a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket on board and all children under 13 are required to wear one at all times.
Adams said 240 boaters were arrested for impaired driving last year. There have been 36 arrests this year.
Georgia State Patrol is focusing on stopping unbelted drivers, speeders, drunk, drugged and reckless drivers.
"Too many families in Georgia and across our great nation have lost people they care about in a traffic crash," Director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Allen Poole said.