Augusta - According to statistics provided by the Department of Public Safety, 65 people have died on Maine roads this year, compared to only 45 fatalities at this same time last year.

Public Safety Commissioner John Morris says last year was an abnormally low year for driving deaths in Maine. Morris says this year's totals are more in line with Maine's average in recent years.

Morris says one of the main reasons for this year's rise in fatalities is young people, under the age of 24, not wearing seatbelts. "Maybe the distracted driving, and certainly in some cases alcohol, has caused the accident, but the lack of a seatbelt has caused the ejection and the casualty," Morris said.

Police say nobody was wearing a seatbelt in a fatal accident in Belgrade last weekend that left two people dead. 20-year-old Kristin Lawler of Oakland, and 25-year-old Jackson Bolduc of Belgrade were killed Saturday night when the car they were riding in slammed into a tree.

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