Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis is calling attention to “very sobering numbers” on fatal crashes in the county.

Dennis said state officials provided data on the number of fatal crashes in Sedgwick County, comparing the numbers to Johnson County, which includes the Kansas City area.  The numbers were discussed at a meeting this week of the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which deals with transportation issues.

Dennis said the population in Sedgwick County in 2019 was about 513,000, while Johnson County had 591,000.   In a five-year period from 2017 to 2021, Sedgwick County had 291 fatal crashes, while Johnson County had 120.   The fatal crash rate in Sedgwick County is 11.34 per 10,000 people, while Johnson County had 4.03.   Sedgwick County had 315 deaths from fatal crashes during that five year period, while Johnson County had 129.    The cost of the fatal crashes was $4.4 billion in Sedgwick County, with a cost of $2 billion in Johnson County.

Dennis said “It really still boils down to human error.  People aren’t doing what they need to do when they get behind the wheel.”    He said the county will have to get its public works department to work with local communities and see what steps can be taken by WAMPO to lessen the fatality numbers, but he said something has to be done.

Dennis said he wants county residents to know that public works officials are still looking at steps to improve safety at the intersection of 21st Street North and 167th Street West. The county is also looking at possible safety improvements for the intersection of 79th Street South and Greenwich Road, but Dennis said human error is causing most of the accidents that are happening in the county.