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COLUMBUS — Twenty-three people were killed in Ohio in traffic accidents over the Labor Day holidays, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported Monday.

Twenty accidents occurred between midnight Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday, the patrol said.

At least one accident in the region occurred over the holidays.

Jeremy Morehart, 35,of Bidwell, Ohio, was killed when his 2004 Honda Accord went off the road on Ohio 850 in Gallia County, according to the Gallipolis Post.

According to preliminary statistics from the Highway Patrol, at least four of the 20 fatal crashes recorded over the Labor Day weekend reporting period were OVI-related. In a continued effort to lower that number to zero, troopers made 398 arrests for impaired driving and 67 for drug-related charges.

In the fatalities in which a safety belt was available, seven were unbelted. Although Ohio’s safety belt law remains a secondary violation, troopers continue to have zero tolerance during the holiday reporting period when motorists were stopped for a violation and found to not being wearing a safety belt.

Throughout the four-day reporting period, troopers issued 1,872 safety belt citations.

Additionally, troopers responded to 490 crashes, issued 1,308 citations for distracted driving and provided assistance to 1,568 motorists.