Albert Lea, MN (KROC-AM News) - The State Patrol and several hundred local law enforcement agencies throughout Minnesota will be conducting a two week enforcement campaign targeting seat belt law violators beginning on Monday.

Already this year, the state has seen 30 traffic deaths involving people who were not using seat belts, including 10 who died in crashes just last month. Statistics also show that last year, 67-percent of the people killed in traffic crashes in Minnesota were not buckled up.

To help kick-off the campaign, which runs through the end of the month, Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase will be recognizing a young woman during an event in Albert Lea Monday morning. 19-year-old Brittany Erding will be presented with a “Saved by the Belt” award for remembering to buckle up when she got behind the wheel on January 9th.

She ended up losing control of her car, which skid through a field and then vaulted off a 40-foot cliff into the partially frozen Root River. Law enforcement officials say she survived because she was wearing her seatbelt.

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