Quarterly traffic report cites March fatality at Raymond and South Gammon; police outline enforcement and grant priorities

Lieutenant Hannah of the Madison Police Department presented the quarterly traffic safety report to the Transportation Commission on July 9, 2025, reporting one fatal crash during the first quarter and outlining enforcement patterns, grant programs and coordination with engineering work.

Hannah said the fatal crash occurred March 6, 2025, at about 4:10 p.m. at the intersection of Raymond Road and South Gammon Road. The police presentation said a vehicle traveling outbound struck a car that was stopped at a stop sign on South Gammon while attempting a left turn onto Raymond. The suspect admitted consuming alcohol and the suspect vehicle's event data recorder showed a speed of about 90 miles per hour on Raymond Road, the presentation said. The suspect, described in the report as a 20‑year‑old male, had minor injuries and an expired license; the victim was identified in meeting remarks as a 68‑year‑old woman who later died of her injuries. Two grandchildren in the victim's car sustained injuries but remained physically stable. The suspect was arrested and prosecution materials were sent to the district attorney's office.

Commissioners asked for additional context and data. William Okovich asked whether Raymond Road will be reconfigured; Tom Moore (staff) said the Midtown Raymond Road connection and reconfiguration are scheduled for 2030. Alder Sean O'Brien and others pressed on typical enforcement thresholds; Lieutenant Hannah described that officers generally pull over drivers at about 15 miles per hour over the posted limit, and that officers often write a ticket for a lower numeric violation to ensure more consistent results in court. "When you look at this stuff, and you pull people over for these things, we want it to be a good ticket," Hannah said, explaining the practical reasons for the enforcement threshold.

The report covered grant programs and enforcement resources. Hannah said the department runs enforcement projects funded by grants shared with Dane County for alcohol, speed and seat‑belt enforcement; pedestrian and bicycle safety grants are funded and managed by the city and used to focus enforcement on crosswalk compliance and other behaviors that threaten vulnerable users. The city's traffic enforcement "test" team consists of five officers and a sergeant who work weekday shifts (roughly 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.); Hannah said that test unit statistics would be provided in future reports after a commissioner request.

Staff and commissioners also discussed data and staffing. Hannah said complaint and enforcement data come from multiple channels and that the department has recently lost key data‑analysis staff, creating interim limits on how finely complaint trends can be tracked. Commissioners asked about coordination with WISDOT and county planning on corridors such as South Stoughton Road; Hannah said she participates in those meetings and noted the process is engineering‑heavy but that police data are shared when relevant.

No formal commission action was taken on the traffic report; commissioners asked the police to add a breakout of the "test" unit numbers to the next quarterly report and to continue coordination with traffic engineering and Metro when engineering solutions are considered.