LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington experienced two major car accidents Monday, March 31 on New Circle Road. 

The first occurred after 11 a.m. and was a four-vehicle crash that included two construction vehicles.

“One of the worst collisions I worked with; somebody got into a construction zone and hit one of the big, big pieces of equipment for working on the roadway," said Lexington Police Department Lt. Chris Van Brackel. "And unfortunately, something that's a big bulldozer like that is not going to move when a car hits it.”

Then around noon, the Lexington Police Department shared a second accident happened on the same road: a crash involving three people who all died on the scene.

Van Brackel, who has been with the department for 20 years, said factors that lead to collisions have grown with new cars and cellphones. 

If you're traveling down the interstate in the time it took you to look at that screen, you've driven maybe three or four football fields." “We really, truly need to do one thing at a time," Van Brackel said. "All of those distractions that pull us away, it's very easy to say, 'Well, I just glanced at that screen for a second.' If you're traveling down the interstate in the time it took you to look at that screen, you've driven maybe three or four football fields." 

Larger intersections form more congestion, he said. 

Lexington received a $22 million grant in Dec. 2023 to work with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to improve safety on “critical roadways," including Northeast New Circle Road, which is adding lanes and widening bridges.

Road improvements and traffic alerts are about overall safety, Van Brackel said. He added New Circle Road was among the top-five accident locations or intersections and the city's traffic selective enforcement unit is working to bring down collisions. 

Van Brackel said he reminds those on the road to use extra time between drivers, pedestrians to use crosswalks and signals and for everyone to work together toward traffic safety.