Wildwood police report 7.8% drop in crashes but note first traffic fatality in six years

Wildwood police presented key findings from the department’s 2025 vehicle crash analysis at the Board of Public Safety meeting on April 2, 2026. Captain Mundell said the department recorded a 7.8% decrease in total crashes from 2024 to 2025 and noted a marked reduction in crashes on Old State Road.

"Kind of the highlights, we've had a we had a 7.8% decrease in crashes from, 24 to 25," Captain Mundell said, summarizing the department’s preliminary figures. He told the board the city had 15 reported crashes on Old State Road in 2025, down from 27 in 2024 and 40 in 2022, crediting pavement treatments and larger reflective posts installed through a county–city cost-share project.

The captain reported the city experienced its first fatality in six years: "Unfortunately, we had our 1st fatality at, Highway 100 and Highway T," he said, describing the crash as a daytime failed-yield collision in which a driver pulled out from a stop sign into oncoming traffic. Captain Mundell said no criminal charges resulted from the incident based on the available facts presented to the board.

Staff also told the board that deer-related crashes declined from roughly 248 in 2024 to 177 in 2025, while the overall annual crash volume remains about 450 to 475 incidents and about 14% of crashes result in injuries. The captain said some deer strikes go unreported and that the department will compare crash locations with prior deer-removal maps as the data set is finalized.

The department said the final report will be posted to the city website when data verification is complete. The board did not take formal action on the crash report beyond receiving the presentation.