Northwest Iowa — For several years, the State of Iowa has been working to reduce the number of traffic deaths on the state’s roadways, and had set 300 as a goal to strive for. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Krull says they weren’t able to hit that mark in 2021.
Despite the increased number of fatalities statewide, Trooper Krull says that in State Patrol District 6, which is comprised of Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Emmet, Palo Alto, Clay O’Brien and Sioux Counties, the number of fatalities decreased last year.
Although the fatality numbers were down for this area, Krull says the total number of crashes increased sharply.
As Trooper Krull mentioned, 353 people died on Iowa’s roads in 2021, and the first few days of 2022 aren’t encouraging as a harbinger of what the year has to offer. According to the Iowa State Patrol Accident Report website (accidentreports.iowa.gov), as of mid-afternoon Thursday four people had died in traffic crashes in Iowa: 2 on January 4th, 1 in Ida County and 1 in Jones County; 1 on January 5th in Iowa County; and 1 on January 7th in Lee County. These reflect only those crashes investigated by the Iowa State Patrol.
