THE TIMES DEADLIEST ROADS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2018 | K3

DAN SHELTON, THE TIMES A mangled Dodge pickup truck and Hebron school bus sit along Ind. 8 just west of Baums Bridge Road in Kouts after colliding in March 2015.

Crashes Region’s deadliest roads From K1 A Times computer-assisted review of five years of fatal roadway accidents in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties revealed U.S. highways county,” she said of the double-digit are cumulatively the leading locations where fatal accidents occurred. increases in Porter and LaPorte Here's a breakdown of fatal accidents by road type in Northwest counties. between 2010 and 2014. The statewide number of traf- 99 fi c deaths as of early this month is U.S. Highway 106 down by nearly 100 as compared to 72 the same period last year, said Will State Highway 78 Wingfi eld, communications direc- 71 Fatal crashes tor for the Indiana Criminal Justice County Road 75 Total killed Institute, which produces its An- 64 nual Highway Safety Plan. Local Street - Township 71 A Times computer-assisted 64 probe of roadway fatality data kept Interstate 71 by the National Highway Traffi c 3 Local Street - Municipality Safety Administration revealed that 3 Lee Enterprises graphic DAN SHELTON, FILE, THE TIMES there were 211 fatal vehicle crashes A car lodged under a semi is dragged as the semi is towed away from with 226 people killed between the scene of a massive crash on I-94 just outside Michigan City in 2014. 2010 and 2014 in Lake County, 84 Crashes by description crashes and 95 killed in LaPorte Collision with something 210 Deadliest stretch Total killed Fatal crashes Miles County, and 78 crashes with 83 other than a vehicle 250 killed in Porter County. 71 56 Angle The Interstate 80-94-90 corridor is the deadliest 80 Region 50 stretch of roadway in , a Times 41 62 Perilous corridors Front-to-Rear 42 computer-assisted probe of five years of federal A large number of the fatal Fatal crashes 41 72 fatal accident data reveals. Here is how the crashes throughout the Region Front-to-Front 47 Total killed Indiana 60 corridor compares to the state and nation. last year occurred along the busier, 7 152 faster moving highways, according Sideswipe - Same Direction 7 915 3 to comparative maps to be included Sideswipe - Opposite Direction Nation 800 in IU’s 2017 Traffi c Safety Facts 3 Lee Enterprises graphic 2,903 publication. The Interstate 80 corridor Leading the way is the peril- the with U.S. 30, he Transportation has undertaken or REGION NATION INDIANA ous interstate corridor shared by said. is planning a number of safety im- I-80/94 and I-90, including the U.S. 20 can carry as many as provement projects along U.S. 20 41% 2.1% 5% . 23,000 passenger cars and 3,500 and the other corridors with high The Region’s share The Region’s share Indiana’s share of The Times probe of 373 Region commercial vehicles each day fatality numbers, said Parkhouse, of the state’s I-80 of the nation’s I-80 the nation’s I-80 roadway accidents over fi ve years through Michigan City and more of INDOT. The U.S. 20 work in- corridor. corridor. corridor. revealed 50 fatal crashed claimed 56 than 16,000 passenger cars in the cludes repaving and the addition 78% 6% 8% lives along that corridor, making it eastern part of LaPorte County. of turn lanes and shoulder rumble of the people killed of the people killed of the people killed the Region’s deadliest roadway. strips in LaPorte County, he said. The Region accounts for 41 per- Deadly U.S. highways Improvements also are planned for 89% 6% 8% cent of Indiana’s I-80 corridor — Though the Region’s main in- U.S. 41, the Region’s fourth deadli- of the fatal crashes of the fatal crashes of the fatal crashes but for 78 percent of the people terstate corridor is our Region’s est roadway, including the addition on that stretch of on the entire on the entire killed and 89 percent of the fatal deadliest stretch of roadway, U.S. of a center turn lane from 77th Ave- the highway corridor corridor Lee Enterprises graphic crashes along that route in Indiana highways, which overlap with mu- nue to U.S. 231, Parkhouse said. The between 2010 and 2014. nicipal and county roads, account project could be underway in 2020. Compared to the I-80 corridor for the largest cumulative number Fifteen fatal crashes claimed 15 lives problems increase when there are Margraf. from coast to coast, the Region’s of fatal crashes and deaths. over fi ve years on that highway. more people on the roads. Part of the problem is that many portion accounts for 2.1 percent A special set of characteris- INDOT already performed some It takes just one event on the of the motorists on either highway of the nation’s I-80 corridor but 6 tics, blending pedestrians with intersection improvements last year highway to slow traffi c and create are just passing through and are of- percent of the people killed and 6 high-volume vehicle traffi c and along U.S. 30 in Merrillville aimed conditions optimal for accidents, ten unable to give reliable locations percent of the fatal crashes on the undivided highways, make it so, at increasing safety, he said. These he said. when reporting accidents, he said. entire corridor. authorities said. included the addition of a turn lane When traffi c is creeping along “There’s a lot of wasted miles Other top deadly stretches re- Lake, Porter and LaPorte county at Rhode Island Avenue and work at slowly during heavy traveled out there at times,” he said of his vealed in The Times probe, in de- U.S. highways — including U.S. 20, Mississippi Street. times, such as Fridays and Sun- department’s attempts to locate a scending order, are U.S. 20, U.S. 30, U.S. 30 and U.S. 41 — accounted for U.S. 30 is our three-county area’s days, crashes tend be more minor, crash scene. U.S. 41, Ind. 2 and . 99 fatal crashes in which 106 people third-deadliest roadway corridor, Gose said. But the more serious The Interstate 90 Toll Road poses While the Region sees its share of died over fi ve years. accounting for 20 fatal crashes and and deadly crashes occur when a a unique challenge because it is nar- crashes during the snowy months, U.S. 20, the Region’s sec- 20 people killed over fi ve years. fast moving vehicle collides with row, and there can be inadequate most of the fatalities between 2010 ond-deadliest roadway, actually slowed or stopped traffi c. shoulder room for trucks to reach and 2014 occurred, in descending poses a bigger problem for the city Relief valve “Those tend to be some of the crashes when traffi c is backed up, order, during October, August, July, of Portage because the commer- The number of crashes corre- most horrifi c crashes we have,” he he said. June and September, according to cial stretch brings vehicle and pe- sponds with the higher number said. The Portage Fire Department the NHTSA. destrian traffi c together, said Tim of vehicles, and Lake Michigan When backups begin to occur, faces the same challenges, in addi- Human error is a key factor for Sosby, Portage assistant fi re chief. forces a plethora of traffi c through Gose said his fellow offi cers try tion to receiving a wide variety of most fatal crashes, Sapp said. “It’s pretty frequent that people the narrow corridor of Northwest to position themselves 100 yards calls to the highways, said Assistant But congested highways are the are walking along that road,” he Indiana into and out of , behind the slow-down with emer- Fire Chief Tim Sosby. common pot in which the tragedy said. Indiana Criminal Justice Institute gency lights on to warn oncoming While the department has not is cooked. A total of 31 fatal crashes claimed spokesman Wingfi eld said. vehicles to decrease their speed. had to go to the extra expense of The Region stretch of Interstate 33 lives on that stretch of Northwest “We see that hotspot, but it’s not “It’s not a perfect solution, but purchasing special equipment for 80/94 near the state line Indiana highway, The Times probe immediately evident the cause be- it’s one of the things we do to help the highway calls, it does routinely sees as many as 151,000 passen- shows. hind it.” lessen that,” he said. take an extra engine out to serve as ger cars and 50,000 commercial U.S. 20 also poses a problem be- A proposed relief valve for Region The offi cers also try to be visible protection by blocking traffi c ap- vehicles passing through daily, ac- cause, unlike the expressways, there highway congestion — a long-dis- on the highway to gain voluntary proaching a crash scene, he said. cording to Adam Parkhouse, media is no center divider, which creates cussed a new four-lane interstate compliance with traffi c laws, Gose The department does not have relations director for the Indiana plenty of opportunity for head-on connecting Interstate 65 in Indiana said. a tanker truck because most of the Department of Transportation’s collisions, Sosby said. This was the with Interstate 55 in Illinois — has “We want to make people see us,” city is protected by fi re hydrants, northwest district. case in October 2017 when an el- been stalled by political forces. he said. “We want to make people which means it has to rely on other Highs of nearly 80,000 passen- derly woman driving at a high rate An alternative to this Illiana Ex- safe.” departments to bring out water ger cars and 19,000 commercial of speed crossed the center line and pressway also was pitched last year when needed on the highway, Sosby vehicles pass daily along Interstate struck another vehicle head on, and called for the construction of a First responder challenges said. 65 near the with U.S. killing herself and a 17-year-old toll-based expressway connecting When crashes do occur, state and Work continues to improve safety 30, he said. Chesterton High School honor roll the Indiana Toll Road to four inter- local police departments are joined and mobility along Interstate 80/94 The strip of U.S. 30 near the student driving the other vehicle. states, culminating with I-80 near on the busy highways by local fi re- and an added travel lane along the Southlake Mall sees as many as What’s missing along the city’s Morris, Illinois. fi ghters. Lake County stretch of Interstate 62,000 passenger cars and 3,600 stretch of U.S. 20 is clearly marked Indiana State Police Lt. Terry The city of Hammond is among 65, Parkhouse said. commercial vehicles daily, Park- center striping and rumble strips Gose, who is very familiar with the local communities with both “INDOT personnel are always house said. cut into the roadway to warn mo- the traffi c patterns along the local Interstate 80/94 and the Toll Road keeping an eye on potential areas U.S. 41 experiences as many as torists when they start drifting into stretch of Interstate 94 as district within its jurisdiction. of concern and addressing safety 41,000 passenger cars and 1,700 oncoming lanes. commander at the Indiana State “It’s a headache for us,” said Dep- issues both preemptively and as 00 1 commercial vehicles each day near The Indiana Department of Police Lowell post, agrees that uty Hammond Fire Chief Kevin they arise,” he said.