The Georgia State Patrol said rain was a contributing factor in many of the wrecks that happened during the holiday weekend, resulting in more wrecks than had been predicted.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel period ended Sunday night with 15 traffic deaths reported.

The state patrol post in Athens had one fatality, Guytrell Martin, 54, of Commerce, who lost control of his vehicle Sunday afternoon on Ga. 326 in Jackson County near Banks County. The driver’s 12-year-old son, a passenger in the vehicle, was wearing a seat belt and suffered only minor injuries.

While the number of traffic deaths was lower than expected, rainfall across the state since Friday contributed to a higher than normal number of traffic crashes and injuries on Georgia roads.

The final count for the 102-hour holiday period was 4,542 traffic crashes, 1,073 injuries and 15 fatalities. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and ended at midnight Sunday. Traffic estimates had been for 3,325 crashes, 950 injuries, and 19 fatalities.