MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – Medina County has been a steadily growing county in South Central Texas. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the county’s population jumped from 46,006 in 2010 to 50,748 in 2020.
In addition to population growth, Medina County is experiencing more vehicle crashes, as well.
Sarah Windsor, Medina County Emergency Service Department 1 assistant fire chief, said her crews responded to nearly 100 motor-vehicle collisions (95) between Jan. 1 and Sept. 27.
Ten percent of those crashes have been fatal, Windsor said.
Information Release: Last week we posted about the recent severe vehicle accidents within our district. And again...
Posted by Medina County ESD1 FIRE/EMS on Wednesday, September 25, 2024
“This year, we’re probably going to look at just a little over 2,000 calls,” Windsor said.
Farm to Market Road 471 is one of the areas that has had more drivers on the road.
“We do cover about 250 square miles, and that road runs about 80% of that,” Windsor said. “If you take (Farm to Market Road) 1957 down, you’ll hit FM 471. It is a major intersection.”
Since the county is growing, the department is working on ways to respond faster to emergency calls.
“As a district, we do currently have five ambulances on order,” Windsor said. “That should be here close to the start of the new year. Our intent, as a department, is to start EMS in-house, which will be a huge plus to our citizens. So, we’ll see faster response times as well as (an) increase(d) level of care for them.”
Windsor told KSAT that Medina County ESD 1 previously posted many of the county’s car collisions on Facebook to be transparent with the community.
“When you can definitely see what a car looks like versus what it can become in some of these situations. I think it brings it a little bit more home and makes it a little bit more real,” Windsor said. “Seeing how long it takes our responders to sit there and have to peel away, piece by piece, of these vehicles to get somebody out. I think it really helps drive home the message, sometimes.”
Windsor suggested drivers wear their seatbelts, put their phones down and focus on the road ahead of them.