COVID collateral: Less traffic may have led to more fatal accidents
There were 234 fatal car accidents in Memphis in 2020, compared to 137 in 2019. Accidents with injuries also increased from 10,927 in 2019 to 11,040 in 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)
It seems counterintuitive, but traffic fatalities and accidents with injuries were actually up in Memphis last year, even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused fewer people to be on the roads. The reduced traffic may have just opened up the roadways for dangerous drivers.
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Blake Fontenay
Blake Fontenay’s 27-year journalism career has taken him to many newspapers in four states. However, he had never returned to work in any of the other cities where he had been before until the opportunity to report for the Daily Memphian presented itself. He covers business for the Daily Memphian.
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