Crashing into Buildings?
We're looking into scientific topics we find interesting!
In June 2025, Columbus Police Sgt. James Fuqua stated that so far in 2025, 67 cars had crashed into buildings in Columbus.
The surprising thing about this statistic is that it might not actually BE surprising if you’ve looked at previous years. In 2024 there were 226 incidents of cars crashing into buildings in Columbus, in 2023 the count was 161, and in 2022[source].
The Columbus Division of Fire may categorize “cars into building” accidents differently, because they reported 102 vehicle collisions with buildings or structures in the first five months of 2024,almost forty more than the Columbus Police. So the actual number of incidents may actually be higher than reported [source]!
Not only are the number of crashes high, Columbus doesn’t even lead the state in these type of crashes according to Rob Reiter, the founder of the storefront safety council.
Cleveland and Dayton both had more reported storefront crashes, and both have smaller populations than Columbus. Columbus (~ 905k) Cleveland (386k) Dayton (137k).
Storefront Crashes over 12 Year Span (2012 - 2024)
1. Cleveland
2. Dayton
3. Columbus
4. Toledo
5. Cincinnati
6. Akron
In relation to the nation, the council ranks Ohio as 6th for vehicle into building crashes over a select 12 year span.
While the numbers may suggest this is business as usual, seeing and experiencing it has been so jarring, that it has inspired citizen watchers that started tracking the phenomenon [cbuscarikaze lifeincolumbus].
Meara, who runs cbuscarikaze, said that he felt the 2025 crashes involved more commercial and business properties. He told Axios "I don't know if there's any real explanation ... but right now I'm just trying to document it as best as I can,"
These aren’t little fender benders, these people are launching their cars into buildings I’m not sure if I underestimated cars or overestimated the durability of buildings.
I think what makes it sensational as well is the scenarios seem absurd. Two cars hitting the same building at the same time? A car going up a flight of stairs and then hitting a storefront?
Authorities attribute these crashes to distracted driving not impaired driving and Columbus Police urged drivers to eliminate distractions.
The empty roads during lockdown led to more reckless driving and speeding [source], could these incidents be a carryover of past behavior?
Is this a job for the traffic engineers?
What do you think is behind the crashes? How would you go about fixing this?
Oh and have you ever run into a building? It seems like a wild experience.
Check out the petition Cbuscarikaze set up on Change.org! It proposes improved sightlines, tactical urbanism, traffic calming devices, and hardened barriers.
