Lee County had a record number of traffic deaths in 2007. It was the height of the housing bubble burst, and the county’s population had ballooned rapidly. There were a host of construction vehicles, trucks and an influx of new residents. There were 106 people who died on our roads that year.
But then the recession hit, the price of gasoline spiked and fewer people were driving. There was also an exodus of residents and commercial vehicles weren’t seen as frequently.
Now, we’re back on the upswing financially. But that’s apparently not all good news, as The News-Press recently reported. As of June 30, county officials tallied 52 roadway deaths. The year is only half-over, which means at this rate, we are going to either meet or surpass the number of traffic accident deaths that occurred here in 2007.