There are few positives to report so far in this year’s ongoing count of Tennessee traffic fatalities. Compared to this time last year, deaths are 22% higher in the 12-county Middle Tennessee region.
The increases spread across categories, including more teen drivers, more motorcyclists, more truckers and more walkers.
These trends hold in the region and in Nashville. In the city, pedestrian deaths are at an all-time high, with two more this weekend pushing the count to 28. In the most recent incidents:
- A woman was killed on westbound Interstate 40 around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 9. Police say she wasn’t carrying identification and that it’s not yet known why she was in a lane of traffic when struck by a pickup truck.
- 77-year-old Rosemary Follrich died Sunday night after being struck by a speeding motorcycle while crossing Murfreesboro Pike with a shopping cart. Police says motorcyclist Clifford S. Wright will be charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication.
In recent years, more than a quarter of Nashville’s roadway fatalities have been people walking.
There are two counties in the region — Robertson and Rutherford — that have been slightly fewer road deaths this year.
In terms of long-range trends, the rate of traffic deaths has generally fallen.
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