Three area counties realized slight increases in vehicle-train crashes last year from 2009 but are all down from several years ago, according to the Ohio Grade Crossing Statistics Report 2010 released recently by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

There was only one crash in Ottawa County last year but it was fatal, occurring Dec. 16 on Benton-Carroll Road near the Village of Rocky Ridge.

The county’s last fatal accident involving a train was in 2006 when there were two fatal crashes: one on State Route 2 near Oak Harbor and the other at N. Nissen Road near the Village of Clay Center.

In all, there were eight crashes that year in the county. There haven’t been more than two crashes in the county since 2001 other than in 2006.

In Sandusky County, there was only one crash in 2010. It also occurred in December in the City of Fremont. There were no reported injuries. In 2008 and 2009, there were no crashes and in 2007 there was one, but no injuries were reported. The last year in which injury accidents were reported was in 2005 when there were three crashes. Two caused injuries.

There were three crashes last year in Wood County. One person was injured.

In 2009 and 2008, there were two and one crashes respectively. There were no injuries.

The county recorded nine crashes in 2007, two of them were fatal. The fatal crashes occurred near the villages of Bradner and Pemberville.

Lucas County bucked the trend of the other three counties, registering five crashes, which matches the accident numbers for 2009 and 2008.

There was one fatal accident and one death in the county last year, at Laskey Road in the City of Toledo.

The year 2009 was deadlier. That year there were two fatal crashes and two deaths. In 2008, there were also two fatal accidents and two deaths.

“In 2010, the PUCO ordered 133 crossing safety upgrades, including the installation of lights and gates, supplemental assistance funding, and circuitry upgrades,” said Todd Snitchler, PUCO chairman.

Trains operate on nearly 5,300 miles of track and over 6,000 public crossings, making Ohio the fifth leading state in terms of goods transported by rail, he said.

Since the 1980s, the annual number of vehicle-train crashes in Ohio has decreased from more than 300 to 64 in 2010.

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