Roadway deaths up year-to-year in Southeast District

In the 25-county Missouri Department of Transportation's Southeast District — which includes Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties — 141 people died on roadways as of Dec. 25, compared to 131 for all of 2021, a 7.6% increase.

In 59% of the 1,010 fatality cases statewide, the victim was unbuckled, compared to 65% the year before.

There were 150 motorcyclists killed last year, down from 160 in 2021.

The death toll among pedestrians and bicyclists, 124 and eight, respectively, both constituted year-to-year increases.

Drivers died much more often than passengers — 702 to 183, while the largest single death demographic in 2022, 663, was among adults aged 21 to 64.