Summit County saw a spike in fatal traffic crashes last year.
Forty people were killed in accidents, compared to 25 in the previous year — a 52 percent jump, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported Thursday.
Local authorities are scratching their heads to explain the big increase, wondering if the opiate epidemic is a factor considering many of the deaths involved drugged driving.
“We’re not sure,” said Richfield Police Lt. Joe Davis, who serves as spokesman for the Summit County OVI Task Force. “Drug abuse does seem to be increasing and consequently we find those folks behind the wheel, as well.”
The county — the fourth most populous in Ohio — ranked fifth in the state for the total number of fatalities behind Franklin (92), Cuyahoga (83), Hamilton (61) and Montgomery (59).
Stark County ranked eighth with 32.
Statewide, there were 1,128 traffic fatalities last year.
Lt. Leo Shirkey, who heads the local patrol post that covers Summit and Stark, also couldn’t explain why Summit saw the one-year spike. There had been 32 fatalities in the county in 2014 and 28 in 2013.
The patrol noted that of the fatal crashes in Summit County last year:
• 21 involved drunken or drugged driving.
• 21 involved occupants not wearing seat belts.
Forty-four percent of the accidents took place in Akron over the last two years, the patrol noted.
Many of those deaths could have been prevented if people didn’t drive while under the influence and used their seat belts, Shirkey said.
He said troopers will be partnering with local police agencies and the Summit County OVI Task Force to target drunken and drugged drivers and motorists not using their seat belts.
“We want people to voluntarily comply,” he said.
Davis said the local task force held 25 OVI checkpoints last year and hopes to increase that total by three or four this year. But he added that education is a big part of preventing such accidents.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Davis said.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .