‘I actually saw it in broad daylight’: O Street business owners react to recent crashes

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Business owners on O Street say they are concerned about the recent increase in serious accidents on the road.

Early on Wednesday, two were injured after a car rolled over near the intersection of 27th and O Streets.  This marked the third major accident on O Street in July.

A business owner in the area said they could hear brakes screeching and knew the sound of an accident would follow.

Another owner had seen first hand one of the many car accidents outside his shop.

“I actually saw it in broad daylight,” Antonio Blackwell said.  “Someone was coming up South 52nd and somebody else was going eastbound on O street and they collided.  It was crazy what I saw in front of me.”

Sgt. Michael Muff of the Lincoln Police Department said the city has seen an above-average number of fatal collisions so far in 2022.

Lincoln has already had 10 fatal accidents this year, while in 2021 there were only 11.  Muff said the concentration of accidents on O Street is unusual.

Officials can’t do much about the increase until there is a detectable pattern between the collisions, which they say will be able to find through analysis of crash and traffic reports.

“When you think about some of the recent crashes that we’ve experienced out there, we’ve yet to see a pattern in all of them that identifies something can be done,” said Thomas Shafer, assistant director of transportation for the Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Department.

Officials are hoping that these accidents serve as a reminder to the community to drive defensively and to be responsible when behind the wheel.