(Photo By Flickr User straightedge217)

Illinois State Police say only three people died in traffic collisions during the five-day travel period around Thanksgiving.

State police say that between the days Wednesday and Sunday there were three fatal crashes in Illinois. That’s a sharp drop from 2015, when 17 people died in 15 crashes and from 2014, when 15 people died in 13 crashes.

During the Thanksgiving holiday travel period officers patrolled Illinois roadways, conducted road side safety checks and took part in other traffic enforcement efforts.

State police say they handled 381 traffic crashes, issued 6,473 citations overall, 4,511 warnings, 3,732 speeding citations, 569 seatbelt citations and made 120 driving under the influence arrests.

(Information courtesy of Illinois State Police & cinewsnow.com)