‘Almost a crisis’: Data shows deadly crashes rise in Rutherford County

“When you have an increase in fatalities from 25 to 43, that’s almost a crisis.”

Those are the words of Tony Burnett with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office when looking at the fatal crashes across Rutherford County from 2015 to 2016.

He told the county’s law enforcement leaders on Monday, “Most of the people killed in Rutherford County were your citizens. They were your people.”

And so far in 2017, the county is head by three deaths from this time last year.

County officials are now planning an enforcement and educational campaign to reduce the number of roadway deaths his year.

According to the sheriff’s office, inattentiveness and texting are factors in crashes.

“Distracted driving is killing people every day,” Burnett said.

Of the 43 deaths in 2016, 11 adults and one child were not in seat belts or properly restrained. Four were pedestrians and 11 were riding on motorcycles. Drugs or alcohol were a factor in 11 deaths, and speed was a factor in seven.

The sheriff’s office also said the most fatalities occurred on U.S. Highway 41/70 with U.S. Highway 231 the second highest roadway.

Courtesy of WKRN Nashville’s News 2