At least 35 die on roads, 133 fatal overdoses in Lorain County in 2021

Lorain County roadways saw a very deadly year in 2021, with the number of people killed in traffic crashes rising for the first time in five years. Meanwhile, accidental fatal drug overdoses in Lorain County were near the same level they were in 2020, with more than 130 people dying from ingesting a lethal amount of drugs. That number will likely not be finalized by the Coroner's Office until February, according to Lorain County Public Health. After falling for four straight years, the number of people killed in crashes on Lorain County's roadways rose sharply in 2021. Thirty-five people died on Lorain County roads in 2021 — more than double the number in 2020 and nearly twice as many who died in 2019, according to statistics kept by the State Highway Patrol. In 2020, there were 15 fatalities on Lorain County roads. In 2019, there were 18 fatalities. According to the State Highway Patrol, 20 of the 35 fatalities were on urban roads and 15 on rural ones. Intoxicated driving figured in 18 of the fatalities. Motorcycles were involved in eight of the fatalities and commercial vehicles were involved in six, troopers said. The last time Lorain County had more than 30 deaths on its roads was in 2017, when 34 people were killed. Lorain County Public Health and its Safe Communities program are involved in educational programs that work with the public and law enforcement to fight preventable causes of traffic crashes such as intoxicated driving and speeding. Erin Murphy, director of health promotion and chronic disease prevention at LCPH, said in an email Dec. 29 that a full breakdown of causes behind the increase in fatal crashes in Lorain County in 2021 won't be available until after the new year. Public health authorities address the causes of fatal crashes by creating awareness of and promoting sober driving, encouraging motorists to slow down, educating the public on the dangers of texting and driving and working with law enforcement and municipalities to encourage improvements to roads, sidewalks, signs and reduced speed limits. The Safe Communities Coalition meets every other month to discuss safety measures to reduce fatal and injury crashes across the county and to produce reports on the major causes of fatal crashes. As of Dec. 27, troopers in Lorain County had investigated 1,706 crashes. In 2020, they investigated 1,511 crashes, according to State Highway Patrol statistics. DUI arrests by troopers in Lorain County were down slightly, with 541 as of Dec. 27, according to provisional statistics. In 2020, troopers made 572 such arrests. Overdoses Depending on the outcome of continuing investigations, 2021 might end up the highest in the last five years for overdose deaths in Lorain County. As of Dec. 28, there were 133 accidental overdoses tallied by the Lorain County Coroner's Office in 2021. That number will not be finalized until February as additional toxicology results and reports may be needed to determine cause of death. In 2020, Lorain County saw 138 fatal overdoses, and there were 90 such deaths in 2019, according to the coroner's office. LCPH addresses the causes of accidental overdoses by distributing naloxone, or Narcan, kits through Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) in coordination with the Ohio Department of Health. ODH and local health departments work to educate the public and those with substance abuse disorders on overdose education and distribute naloxone, which can reverse an opioid-related drug overdose as it happens. Many local police officers also are equipped with the kits as first responders in a crisis. Murphy said between January and October, LCPH distributed 2,098 naloxone kits through Project DAWN. A reported 216 people were saved from overdoses by the kits. In 2020, Project DAWN in Lorain County distributed 932 kits, and 140 people were reported saved, according to Murphy. In 2021, the health department implemented a mail-order Narcan program, and since January started 19 Project DAWN programs with more than 50 service sites — agencies that keep naloxone on hand in case of an overdose — including schools, churches and gas stations, Murphy wrote. Officials also are hoping that a crisis center in the planning stages might help those with addiction disorders get the care and treatment they need, and lower the number of people who die of addiction-related causes each year. A planned $8 million, 32-bed center for those with substance abuse disorders and mental health concerns is being built in Lorain County, with the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board and other substance abuse organizations taking part. In September 2020, federal authorities credited greater law enforcement efforts with a 31 percent decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths in Lorain County over the previous year. Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge began in 2018 in Lorain County, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio had prosecuted 121 criminal defendants on charges of selling or possessing fentanyl and other synthetic opioids as of September 2020. The average sentence for those defendants was 70 months in federal prison. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter. Roadway fatalities in Lorain County 2021: 35 (as of Dec. 27)2020: 152019: 182018: 212017: 34 (Sources: Lorain County Public Health/Safe Communities; Ohio State Highway Patrol) Fatal drug overdoses in Lorain County 2021: 133 (as of Dec. 28)2020: 1382019: 902018: 1322017: 1322016: 121 (Sources: Lorain County Public Health; U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio)