Mike West

A typical weekend for Limestone County Coroner Mike West involves documenting one or two deaths.

During the holiday weekend of Dec. 30 – Jan. 2, his office investigated 10.

“Holidays usually aren’t any different,” West told The News Courier on Wednesday. “Never this many.”

West and his deputies were kept on their toes as four crashes, a shooting and three medical-related fatalities all came in during the four-day period. As far as traffic deaths, Limestone County accounted for six in the state total of 31.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Wednesday reported 20 drivers, six passengers, one motorcyclist, one ATV operator, a UTV operator and two UTV passengers were killed.

ALEA reported that of the 29 killed in vehicles equipped with seat belts, only seven were buckled up, and only one of the two people killed while riding in a vehicle that requires helmets was wearing one. Details like that are the reason West said he won’t call these incidents accidents, because an accident is something that could not have been avoided.

“Most all of these are preventable,” he said, explaining simple actions such as slowing down, wearing a seat belt and not driving under the influence could have prevented tragedy.

Seat belt use is especially important, the coroner noted, as many of the 26 traffic fatalities Limestone County experienced in 2016 occurred from ejection. Someone ejected from a vehicle during a collision has a 300 percent higher chance of dying, West said.

Otherwise, the chances of surviving a crash depends on the speed the vehicle is traveling and the object with which it collides.

The fatality statistics for the year gone by are higher than 2015 numbers at both state and local levels. ALEA reported the year-end total of 671 traffic deaths is 144 more than the previous year, while West reported there were only 19 Limestone County crash fatalities in 2015.