Dave Clark
Anderson County had the greatest reduction in traffic fatalities of any county in Tennessee in 2015, an official said Friday.
In 2014, there were 18 traffic fatalities in Anderson County, District Attorney General Dave Clark said. In 2015, that number dropped to seven, according to statistics maintained by the Tennessee Department of Safety.
“That difference of 11 fewer deaths in Anderson County was the greatest reduction of any Tennessee county,” Clark said.
“The traffic fatality improvements this past year represent 11 people who did not die on our roadways and 11 groups of friends and families who are not grieving this year,” Clark said. “We see the human cost of the deaths on our highways and the utter despair and shock of a family that has suddenly lost someone as the result of a traffic fatality. Therefore, I am particularly pleased with this accomplishment and what it has meant to our community.
“Some of this reduction is attributable to deliberate efforts of police agencies and prosecutors who work every day to make our streets safer by detecting, deterring, and prosecuting impaired driving. In addition, it must be acknowledged that we had a particularly unfortunate year in 2014 and fortunate year in 2015.”
Clark said he is grateful to the law enforcement community, his staff, the courts, and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office for helping make cities and the county better and safer places to live.
“We will continue our efforts to discourage impaired or distracted driving and encourage the use of seat belts,” Clark said.
He said the traffic death toll was down across Tennessee in 2015. There were 906 people killed in 2015 on Tennessee highways. The number for 2014 was 939.
That means 33 fewer people died on Tennessee roads in 2015. One-third of the statewide reduction occurred in Anderson County and its cities, Clark said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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Tracy Powers says
As the mother of Colton Stout, 20, who was killed on Lafayette Drive on January 30, 2014, I’m very thankful that not as many families have had to go through what we have gone through.
I hope the police will pull over anyone they see without a seat belt on and ticket them. I’ve already read about two local people who have been killed this year who didn’t have seat belts on. Knowing what their families are going through is heartbreaking all over again.
It still bothers me that it was reported that Colton was texting because someone saw him looking at his phone at the intersection of Emory Valley and Lafayette. I know he wasn’t. As soon as his wheels left the road, he would have corrected the wheel, braked, anything. But there was none of that, telling me that he fell asleep. He had been awake the whole night and was still up when I left for work that morning.
Had the City placed guard rails or removed the trees planted in the median after Mrs. Normand was killed several years ago after hitting a tree next to the one Colton hit, my son would still be alive. Had there been a guard rail there, it would have been a minor fender bender.
Maybe, as one of our council members said, trees do mean more than people’s lives in Oak Ridge. That is a shame. Oak Ridge lost the best, I lost my heart, until we are together again.
Joseph Lee says
This is good news for Oak Ridge and Anderson County. I too am grateful to the law enforcement community. Thank you Sheriff White and Police Chief Akagi for another good job done well.