Homicides are down in Detroit this year, but serious traffice accidents are up.
Why?
George Hunter supplies answers the in The Detroit News:
A shortage of working streetlights, pedestrians walking in the street instead of using sidewalks and motorists texting while driving.
Plans are in the works to add officers to the unit that investigates traffic deaths.
Through Monday, Detroit recorded 69 fatal accidents, up from 49 during the same period last year, according to Detroit police statistics. Among those were 41 hit-and-run incidents resulting in either fatalities or critical injuries in 2014, only 16 fewer than all of 2013. The number of people killed or injured in those incidents was not available.
Recent high-profile hit-and-run accidents include a July 20 incident in which a 33-year-old man was struck by a car while crossing Linwood near Sturtevant. The victim was struck a second time after a friend came to his aid. He died hours later.
