Peru police aim to lower number of crashes on Route 251 in 2025 with more presence

Peru is hopeful that a greater police presence will deter crashes in its Route 251 business district.

A traffic collision Monday on Route 251 at May Road in Peru, which sent five people to the hospital, was the latest incident. That location in particular has been the site of other crashes.

Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond said there were four crashes at that intersection in 2024, with three resulting in injury and one more happening in front of Quick Trip that resulted in a fatality.

Raymond said that intersection has about the same number of crashes as other major intersections including 38th Street, Interstate 80 and Shooting Park Road.

She said research suggests that police presence and traffic enforcement can deter traffic crashes in that area, and the department is trying to accomplish it by establishing a traffic enforcement next month to help this cause.

“We have far too many accidents in the city of Peru, and that is credited to the increased daytime population in Peru,” she said. “With more people come more cars on the road, which lead to increased numbers of accidents. Hopefully, with traffic enforcement and police presence, we can lower the number of traffic crashes in the city of Peru for 2025.”