The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports one person died during the Christmas holiday counting period.

During this year’s shorter, 30-hour counting period, the Patrol investigated 53 traffic crashes, which included 18 injuries and the one fatality.

In addition, troopers arrested eight people for driving while intoxicated.

There were no boating crashes or drownings during the Christmas 2013 counting period.

The holiday counting period was from 6 p.m., Tuesday, December 24, 2013 to 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Last year’s 102-hour counting period included six fatalities and 342 injuries. Over the 2012 Christmas holiday, troopers investigated 239 traffic crashes and arrested 130 people for driving while intoxicated.

The lone fatality occurred on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2013, in the Troop F, Jefferson City, area. Kenneth E. Parsons, 63, of Osage Beach, MO, died when the vehicle he was driving crossed the center line, ran off the left side of the roadway, struck an embankment, became airborne, struck a tree, and overturned. Parsons was partially ejected. The vehicle came to rest off the roadway on its top.

Miller County Coroner Rick Callahan pronounced Parsons dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. A passenger in Parsons’ vehicle sustained serious injuries and was transported to University Hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The crash occurred on Midway Road just north of Cave Road in Miller County.