Auto fatality rates up in state ... but not in Pulaski County

Local News

June 8, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Mon Jun 08, 2009, 10:33 PM EDT

Authorities are reporting an increase in the number of traffic fatalities in the state for 2009 as compared to fatal crashed reported during the same time period in 2008 — but statistics at the Pulaski County level are just the opposite.

The preliminary numbers released by Kentucky State Police come after a particularly dangerous week for motorists in Kentucky. According to KSP, nine people died in eight separate crashes on Kentucky roadways from Monday, June 1 through Sunday, June 7 in Boone, Henderson, Letcher, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Shelby, and Spencer counties.

Seven of the crashes involved motor vehicles and it was reported that five of those victims were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accidents. KSP reported that alcohol was considered a factor in four of those accidents.

Single fatality crashes occurred in Boone, Henderson, Letcher, Lincoln, Marshall and Shelby counties.

One double fatality crash occurred in Spencer County last week. One driver was transported to a local hospital and later succumbed to her injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

One motorcycle fatality occurred in Logan county this past week as well. KSP reported the victim was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Through June 7, KSP preliminary statistics indicate that 325 people lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2009 — five of those occurred in Pulaski County, according to information provided by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department.

Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood said should the trend continue, by July the figures for 2009 should be around half of those reported fatalities in the first seven months of 2008.

“It does look like it is cut in half from what it was this time last year,” Wood said.

10 traffic fatalities were recorded in the county between January and July of 2008.

A total of 850 traffic crashes have occurred so far this year in the county. 123 of those resulted in injuries.

The 325 fatalities that have occurred on Kentucky roads for 2009 is 14 more than what was reported for the same time period in 2008.

Out of the reported 276 motor vehicle fatalities, 153 of those involved victims who were allegedly not wearing seat belts.

16 pedestrians have been killed in crashes so far this year, 28 people have died in motorcycle accidents and five fatalities involved an all-terrain vehicle, or ATV.

A total of 76 fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol, according to KSP.

Text Only

Local News

Congressional districts set
February 10, 2012
Kentucky exempt from NCLB regulations
February 10, 2012
Survey may attract commercial passenger service
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Hal Rogers defends Somerset’s Streetscape project
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Somerset on verge of becoming natural gas hub
It sounds like a Buck Rogers fiction series, but it’s true. The city of Somerset is about to become the energy hub of Kentucky, maybe even regionally or nationally.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler, gas company manager Dan Henderson and city engineer Reggie Chaney discussed the grandiose energy network this week with a reporter for the Commonwealth Journal. It’s more than a vision. City officials say it’s about to become reality.

February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Old districts are back ... for now
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Such is the legislative redistricting debacle in Frankfort.
Judge Phillip Shepherd in Franklin Circuit Court on Tuesday tossed out the General Assembly’s controversial redistricting plans and reverted everything back to where it was before.

February 9, 2012
Fast-moving blaze guts mobile home off Slate Branch Road
February 2, 2012 1 Photo
Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past.

February 2, 2012
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.

February 2, 2012
SCS to host Medal of Honor recipient
The message is clear: There are heroes. Even here in our own hometowns.
That’s the idea organizers hope to get across Saturday night at Somerset Christian School, when Congressional Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meter speaks to all who choose to attend.
For further questions, ticket purchases, and sponsorship opportunities please contact Susan Adams at (606) 875-0255.

February 2, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Auto fatality rates up in state ... but not in Pulaski County

Site Map