State police: 10 killed in holiday weekend crashes

Virginia State Police had a busy July 4th weekend, responding to 562 highway crashes that left 10 people dead.

One of the fatalities was in Henrico County and involved a bicyclist. A fatality in Chesterfield County involved a motorcycle, in which the rider was wearing a helmet, police said.

The 10 deaths for the Friday-to-Sunday reporting period match the same number of deaths over last year's four-day holiday weekend.

In a news release issued today, state police said alcohol was a factor in four of the fatal crashes, and seven of the dead were not wearing safety belts.

In addition to the highway crashes, state police also cited 7,390 motorists for speeding and 2,140 for reckless driving. One-hundred-twenty-nine suspected drunken drivers were also removed from the roads.