New statistics from the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OHSP) revealed that fatal crashes were up in Highland County in 2023 compared to the year before.

The OSHP statistics reported that Highland County had six fatal crashes in 2023, with that number up slightly from 2022 when there were five fatal crashes reported. However, that statistic is down from 2021 when there were eight fatal crashes and 2020 when Highland County had 10 fatal crashes.

The OSHP reported that one of the six fatal crashes from 2023 happened at least partly due to operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI), while another was motorcycle-related, with the statistics not stating whether those two crashes were the same one.

Three of the five 2022 fatal crashes were OVI-related, according to the report, while four of the eight 2021 fatal crashes were OVI-related and one of them was motorcycle-related. The OSHP also stated that five of the 10 fatal crashes were OVI-related and two of them were motorcycle-related.

The OSHP reported that for 2023 there were seven crashes with suspected serious injuries that were OVI-related, five crashes with suspected minor injuries and two crashes with suspected injuries, with there being 33 OVI arrests total.

In comparison, the OSHP reported that in 2022 there were five crashes with suspected serious injuries that were OVI-related, 11 crashes with suspected minor injuries and three crashes with suspected injuries. The OSHP also reported that there were 41 OVI arrests.

Continuing a fall trend, two of the three statistics for both 2023 and 2022 were down significantly from 2021, when there were eight crashes with suspected serious injuries that were OVI-related, 11 crashes with suspected minor injuries and seven crashes with suspected injuries. The OSHP also said there were 60 OVI arrests.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.