12 people died on Nebraska roadways in December

Twelve people were killed in traffic accidents on the state’s roadways during December, according to data collected by the Nebraska Department of Roads. There were 20 fatalities on the roads in December 2014.

Last month, the 12 fatalities occurred in 12 crashes. In those accidents, eight of the 10 vehicle occupants who died were not wearing safety belts. One of the fatalities occurred on interstate roads, with five happening on non-interstate highways and six on local roads. Six of the fatalities occurred in rural locations and the other six were in urban settings.

Five of the fatalities involved victims who were age 24 or younger. Two of the fatalities involved pedestrians.

For 2014, there were 221 fatalities involving 199 crashes. That compares to 211 deaths in 2013 involving 190 crashes.

All told, 132 of the 190 vehicle occupants killed in 2014 – or 69 percent – were not wearing safety belts.