Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis said he and other local officials are trying to understand why 2-3 times more people are dying in vehicle accidents in Sedgwick County versus Johnson County in the Kansas City metro area.
Dennis cited a recent Kansas Department of Transportation study of accidents between 2017 and 2021. Sedgwick County had 291 fatal crashes, resulting in 315 deaths. Meanwhile, Johnson County reported 120 fatal crashes, killing 129 people.
Property damage from those fatal crashes in Sedgwick County was nearly double that of Johnson County, $4.4 billion versus $2 billion respectively.
Sedgwick County's 2019 population was around 513 thousand, while Johnson County had 591 thousand.
Dennis said the stats were sobering and said something needs to be done about the issue.
WAMPO, the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, will take a deeper dive into the data. They along with the State of Kansas and Wichita Transit are responsible for transportation planning efforts in 22 cities and 3 counties in south central Kansas.





