LAS VEGAS — A new report from the Department of Public Safety shows that crashes and fatalities are up since 2020.
The office released data showing that in 2021, Clark County had 61 crashes compared to the 72 the previous year.
Fatalities are also up, in 2021 Clark County there were 66 fatalities while in 2022 there are 82 reported fatalities.
Ruth, who asked us not to use her last name, says she was recently in a drunk driving crash. She says the driver rear ended her and totaled her car with a child inside.
She took her car to Victor Botnari with Universal Motorcars, who specializes in totaled and crashed cars.
Botnari says since the pandemic, he's seen a 25% increase in DUI crashes. He says one of the reasons there are more crashes is because the population in Las Vegas has grown.
Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Buratczuk says he agrees "Our population in the valley has gone up to nearly 3 million people, correlating to more cars and wrecks on the road."
With organizations and campaigns out there aimed at curbing the issue, Sgt Buratczuk says self-policing is still the best way to fix this growing problem.
