What the stats say about Columbus traffic fatalities and pedestrian deaths
Over the past four years, the statistics for traffic fatalities in Columbus are trending down, while pedestrian fatalities are ebbing and flowing, according to statistics the Columbus Police Department provided the Ledger-Enquirer.
In 2025, Columbus had 14 traffic fatalities, with eight of those involving pedestrians, according to statistics provided by CPD.
CPD said the statistics for the three previous years are:
- In 2024, Columbus had 28 traffic fatalities, including 10 pedestrian deaths.
- In 2023, Columbus had 27 traffic fatalities, including five pedestrian deaths.
- In 2022, Columbus had 30 traffic fatalities, including 11 pedestrian deaths.
“There’s really no rhyme or reason to what’s going on, other than the fact of pedestrians being in the roadway,” Lt. Chris Anderson, who leads CPD’s motor squad, told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Officer says pedestrians not using sidewalks is a problem
Anderson said people not using sidewalks is a problem. One area he mentioned in particular is on Victory Drive.
“Down there, they have two walking bridges that you can literally cross,” he said, “and we have been out there working on stuff, and they will cross under the bridge.”
The time of day for these accidents fluctuates, Anderson said. Lighting, such as early morning and when the sun gets in drivers’ eyes can increase the risk, he said, but he doesn’t see those factors in the 2025 fatalities.
Anderson advises pedestrians to stay out of the road and use crosswalks.
“Push the button,” he said. “We’ve had people walk up to the crosswalk, use the crosswalk and don’t push the button to get the walk signal.”
Anderson said a pedestrian is not legal to cross without the walk signal. Some crosswalks have walk signals that automatically turn on when the traffic light turns red. But for other crosswalks, pedestrians must press the button for the walk signal to appear, according to Anderson.
Pedestrians who need to cross a street where there isn’t a traffic light or crosswalk, Anderson said, should cross at an intersection from corner to corner, not across the middle of the intersection.
Columbus mayor reacts to pedestrian fatality statistics
Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer it’s concerning anytime a pedestrian is hit, injured or killed.
Henderson said the city has been working on street designs, “trying to make sure that we address the safety on the front end with our street engineering.”
The mayor mentioned issues such as pedestrians not using crosswalks and Columbus having a lot of four-lane roads as some contributing factors to fatalities.
“Another road I think we’ve had some challenges with is Veterans (Parkway) and I think even Manchester Expressway, and what they have in common is they are four-lane roads, which means they get a lot of traffic, and it’s a little bit farther than people want to go from corner to corner to get in a crosswalk,” Henderson said.
Henderson encourages pedestrians to take the extra time to go to a crosswalk and be careful when crossing roads at night.