A newly-released report shows more people died in car crashes across metro Atlanta in 2024 than those killed by homicide.
Propel ATL, a road safety advocacy organization, charted 425 traffic deaths in 2024, compared to 410 murders, in “The Human Cost of Mobility: 2024.”
A majority of the traffic deaths were predominantly in low-income and Black neighborhoods, according to the study.
DeKalb County had the highest number of deaths, and Fulton County had the most serious injuries, the report said. Fifty-nine percent of those killed were within walking distance of a bus stop.
“It just seems like it’s accepted as part of the cost of getting around, and we don’t think it is acceptable,” Rebecca Serna, Propel ATL executive director, said. “The solutions are relatively simple. Most of these crashes are preventable.”
Serna says murders are more complex to solve, but simple changes to road designs could calm traffic.
“Reducing driver speeds by narrowing lanes, creating safer crossings so that people have a safe place to cross the street,” Serna said.
The report noted traffic deaths were down nine percent in 2024 compared to the year prior, but showed an uptick in pedestrian and cyclist deaths.
On Thanksgiving Day 2024, a driver hit 75-year-old Barry Collier while he was on a bike ride.
“I was on the scene after he got hit,” said Rashida Collier, the victim’s daughter. “He literally left the turkey on. I was bringing over the side because I live about ten minutes away.”
Six days later, he died in Grady’s ICU. The driver fled and has never been found.
Rashida Collier spent this past Thanksgiving filled with sorrow, one year after her father’s death.
“I just want to stop this from happening for others,” Collier said. “Everybody, whatever mode of transportation you’re taking, whether you’re walking or using a bicycle or using a car, we all deserve to be safe,” Collier said. “We want to make it home safely.”
