BARTLESVILLE — Bartlesville police are working to curb a troubling trend. Injury wrecks have more than doubled in the community.
A drive down Highway 75 through Bartlesville is busy with cars, trucks and vans for miles.
WATCH: Bartlesville police ramp up Hwy 75 patrols after injury accidents double
“It’s a really really highly traveled highway that goes through a really small community,” said Shannon Fox.
MJ Humby and her family live just off the main drag.
“It’s been a perfect place for us to raise our family and just be a part of the community,” said MJ Humby.
For two years, her family has lived near Highway 75. Recently, it’s not just the street noise they’re hearing.
“We’ve seen a lot of fire trucks and ambulances going up and down the highway a lot more frequently on a daily basis,” said Humby.
Their neighbor, Shannon Fox, has noticed the same thing.
“I’m a couple of blocks away, so you can definitely hear it,” said Fox.
“We realized we were having a lot of accidents along Highway 75 so we went and looked at the numbers,” said Andrew Ward.
Bartlesville Deputy Police Chief Andrew Ward said they’ve seen more than double the number of injury wreck in the last year.
From January to May 2024, BPD had 80 non-injury wrecks and 7 injury crashes.
From January to May 2025, BPD had 59 non-injury wrecks and 16 injury crashes.
Deputy Chief Ward says it’s a concerning trend for the town of 40,000.
“We’re aware of it and we would like to address the situation and try to curtail those numbers for next year,” said Ward.
He says officers will focus on catching distracted drivers, speeders, and red-light runners.
“We want to have safe roadways,” said Ward.
Neighbors, like Fox and Humby, say they’ll be glad to see extra patrols up and down the highway.
“Definitely amping up the police will, I think, help with that,” said Fox.
“I’m hoping that it will make people more aware and cautious of their speed and aware of what they’re doing while they’re behind the wheel,” said Humby.
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