As we head into the July 4th weekend, new numbers from Stark County show that traffic fatalities went up in the last three months.

The Stark County Sheriff's Office says there were 7 fatal crashes, and 8 people killed in crashes, in April, May and June this year. That's up from the same time last year by three fatal crashes and three killed.

There have been 11 fatal crashes since the start of the year, and 13 deaths. That's also up from the first half of last year.

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(Stark County Safe Communities/Stark County Sheriff's Office, news release) According to data currently available there were 7 fatal crashes resulting in 8 traffic fatalities in Stark County during the second quarter of 2016.

Compared to the same time frame in 2015, this is an increase of 3 fatal crashes (75%) and 3 traffic fatalities (62.5%).

Stark County has had 11 reported fatal traffic crashes during the first half of 2016, resulting in 13 traffic deaths. There were 7 fatal crashes and 8 traffic deaths for the same time period in 2015.

Four of the seven fatal traffic crashes between April 1, 2016 and June 30, 2016 occurred in the last 15 days of the quarter.

Alcohol and drug results for several of the recent crashes are not available at this time. For the fatal crashes during 2016 in which alcohol and/or drug results are known, almost 67% of the crashes (75% of victims) have involved an alcohol and/or drug impaired driver. During the first 6 months of 2015, approximately 29% of fatal crashes and 25% of the fatalities were drug and/or alcohol related.

Seat belt use in fatal crashes was 80% during the second quarter of 2016 and an average of 70% for the year to date. Seat belt use in fatal crashes for the second quarter of 2015 was 25% and approximately 29% for the first half of 2015.

Stark County victims ranged in age from 16 years to 72 years old with 77% under the age of 30. Female victims represented 38.5% of the fatalities and males 61.5%.

Safe Communities would like to remind everyone that most traffic crashes are preventable. We all have the responsibility to share the road safely with other roadways users. This July 4th holiday, and all year long do your part to prevent these tragedies from happening to your family or any other family. Always drive like it matters.

Safe Communities is a program of the Stark County Sheriff's Office and is funded by the Ohio Department of Public Safety. For more information, please visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.