State troopers responded to 458 accidents — with two fatalities, one in Windham and the other in Bethany — during their annual Christmas holiday enforcement initiatives.

State police on Thursday announced the statistics of the initiatives, which ran from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, through about 9 a.m. Thursday. Troopers responded to 6,700 calls for service and assisted 295 motorists, state police said. Of the accidents, 79 caused injuries, including one serious one in Westbrook.

That compares with 550 accidents in the same initiatives last year, 60 with injuries and three fatalities.

There were 35 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, fewer than the 55 in last year's initiatives, and troopers issued 248 tickets for speeding, down from 659 last year. In addition, state police said they cited 795 hazardous moving violations, including unsafe lane changes and tailgating.