Lincoln police officers participating in increased traffic enforcement along O Street over Memorial Day weekend issued 135 subpoenas and issued 110 additional warnings in a three-day project marred by an accident that killed two people.
The department announced the results of its annual O Street effort in a news release Tuesday, more than three weeks after the grant-funded enforcement detail finished its work along the corridor, where officers issued 27 speeding allegations and 34 “other traffic citations” and a dozen Tickets for unnecessary noise. They also made five DUI arrests and arrested three people on pending warrants.
Overall, officials over the weekend that ended tragically on May 29 when an 18-year-old Omaha man in a Ford Taurus rammed a Toyota Corolla parked at the 52nd Street intersection that sent both cars into a crowd gathered on the sidewalk .
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Both occupants of the Toyota – Emily Siebenhor, 20, and her passenger Edith Hermosillo, 22 – died while 20 bystanders were treated for injuries at local hospitals.
Kyvell Stark, who police said had been driving nearly 90 miles an hour in the moments before the accident, has been charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which caused serious bodily harm.
The accident – which occurred despite the police department conducting high-visibility traffic enforcement along O Street – has called into question the effectiveness of traditional traffic enforcement methods along the corridor, which has been plagued by dangerous driving behavior for decades, despite continued police vigilance.
And although city officials – including Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Police Commissioner Teresa Ewins – have promised policy changes to address safety issues along the street, potential solutions to O Street’s longstanding problems remain unclear.
The town hall meeting attracts enthusiastic drag racers, residents are angry at motorists speeding on O Street
Removed two weeks after O Street crash, possible solutions unclear
Watch Now: Omaha Man Arrested In Lincoln Fatal Accident; Police say he was driving “nearly 90 miles an hour”.
The Most Dangerous Cities in Nebraska
Dangerous Cities in Nebraska
See how your hometown ranks among the most dangerous cities in Nebraska. Ratings were based on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 people in cities with a population of 10,000 or more, with violent crimes classified as murder, violent rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The numbers are for 2019, the most recent year for which the FBI provides data.
6. South Sioux City
With 30 violent crimes in 2019 and a population of 12,771 (the smallest on our list), the northeastern Nebraska city had 2.35 violent crimes per 1,000 residents.
Photo: An RV park in South Sioux City on the Missouri River.
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5. Scotts Bluff
The city of 15,862 had 53 violent crimes in 2019, at a rate of 3.34 per 1,000.
Photo: Low Police Officer Jordan McBride speaks with Scottsbluff Police Officer Michael Modeac as he applies crime scene tape at the scene of an armed standoff in Scottsbluff in June 2021.
STAR HERALD FILE PHOTO
4. North Plate
With a population of 23,705 and 89 violent crimes, the city had a rate of 3.75 per 1,000.
Photo: Union Pacific train locomotives stand in front of a service building in North Platte.
FILEPHOTO
3.Lincoln
The Star City had a population of 291,128 with 1,115 violent crimes, a rate of 3.83 per 1,000.
Photo: Lincoln police are investigating a shooting near the intersection of 14th and E Streets in August 2019.
JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO
2. Big Island
With a population of 51,821 and 236 violent crime cases, the largest of the Tri Cities had a 2019 rate of 4.55 per 1,000 people.
Photo: Grand Island Police and State Patrol personnel are investigating after a body was found in a Grand Island yard in August 2020.
GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO
1. Omaha
In 2019, the state’s largest city, with a population of 470,481, had 2,833 violent crimes at a rate of 6.13 per 1,000.
Photo: Omaha police and university police guard the entrance to the Nebraska Medical Emergency Room after an Omaha police officer was shot and killed at the Westroads Mall in March 2021.
WORLD-HERALD FILE PHOTO
A note on the numbers
With eight violent crimes in 2019, Boys Town topped the state with 13.82 per 1,000 people, which is a misleading statistic given that it had a population of just 579 in 2019.
Photo: The statue at the entrance to Boys Town. It doesn’t take much to skew the numbers.
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Reach the author at 402-473-7223 or [email protected]
On Twitter @andrewwegley