California holiday traffic deaths up, DUI arrests down

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Thirty-nine people were killed in traffic accidents statewide during the Thanksgiving holiday period, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.

The toll was 11 more than during the same period last year.

The deaths, counted from 6 p.m. Wednesday to midnight Sunday, included 24 in CHP jurisdiction and 15 in local jurisdictions, said CHP spokesman Steve Kohler in Sacramento.

The CHP also reported 1,278 drunken driving arrests, down from 1,468 during the holiday period last year.