WKYT Investigates | More than a dozen killed in recent wrong-way crashes in Lexington

Can anything be done to prevent more deaths?
Can anything be done to prevent more deaths?
Updated: Jun. 6, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A WKYT Investigates analysis found that at least 17 people have died in at least six wrong-way crashes in Lexington in the past two-and-a-half years.

Natasha Lacy, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s District 7 Office, which oversees state and federal routes in the Lexington area, told WKYT’s Shelby Smithson in an email on Sunday afternoon that, in regards to the incidents on I-75 and New Circle Road, the Department of Highways will: “gather information including the police reports when they become accessible, along with any other details made available [and] investigate the areas where the incidents took place.”

Lacy said the state follows varying guidelines for signage based on the route. Those guidelines may be different for federal interstates or state highways, she explained.

Susan Straub, a spokesperson for Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton’s office, reiterated that the roads involved in this weekend’s crashes are the state’s responsibility, but added that city leaders are working with state officials “on a road safety initiative and plan to reach out specifically about these head-on crashes.”

Requests for comment from police and Lexington’s at-large council members went unanswered Sunday afternoon.

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