Fire & Rescue
Minnesota and Wisconsin pass last year’s highway death tolls
Minnesota has already posted more traffic deaths this year than in all of 2019, and Wisconsin has now done the same.
As of Sunday, 367 people in Minnesota had been killed in traffic accidents this year, compared to 364 for all of 2019.
Last year, 551 people died on Wisconsin roads, and the state passed that number this year before November was over.
The death toll for 2020 could reach the most recent high of 594, reported in 2017.
Jackson County remains one of just two Wisconsin counties with no highway deaths yet this year.
La Crosse County’s latest count for the year is five traffic deaths, equal to the total from 2019.
The director of Minnesota’s department of public safety calls the increase ‘tragic’ and ‘preventable,’ especially because traffic in general has been down because of the pandemic.
Director Mike Hanson says many drivers seem to be using the decline in traffic to violate laws, by speeding more and buckling up less.