The Memorial Day holiday weekend begins at 6 p.m. Friday, May 25 and ends at midnight Memorial Day. Traffic estimates from the Crash Reporting Unit of the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia State Patrol are for 2,235 traffic crashes, 989 injuries and 18 traffic deaths on Georgia roads. Last year, Georgia recorded 2,103 traffic crashes that resulted in 1,062 injuries in addition to the 17 deaths. Troopers will not only be patrolling the interstates but the secondary roads as well. According to Col. Bill Hitchens of the Georgia State Patrol, “Last year, there were no interstate fatalities recorded during the holiday period, but nine of the deaths were on state highways, six on county roads and two on city streets.”