On Nov. 14, 63-year-old Osborn Henderson Jr. was struck and killed by the driver of a pickup truck who fled from the scene at 84th and Blondo streets.
Two days later, a 29-year-old man was killed in another hit and run while walking along 26th Avenue and Douglas Street. Two more days would pass before the next pedestrian fatality — a 74-year-old man who was struck by a westbound sedan as he ran across Interstate 80 near 60th Street.
The recent spike in deaths contributes to a harrowing statistic. Nebraska is experiencing its deadliest year for pedestrians in more than three decades, with 27 fatalities reported as of Nov. 21.
Omaha is working to combat the deadly trend. Through an ongoing initiative, the city aims to eventually end traffic fatalities entirely.
Vision Zero
It’s difficult for Jeff Sobczyk to point to a specific reason for the recent spike in pedestrian fatalities. There are many random circumstances and variables to account for, he said.
“However, a lot of that has to do with vehicles. Newer mile vehicles are getting bigger and bigger, and with that mass means they’re harder to stop, and there’s more energy that goes into a crash,” Sobczyk said. “Blind spots increase too.”
Sobczyk is Omaha’s Vision Zero coordinator. The road safety initiative was fully adopted in 2023 as a means to to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the city. It comes with an ambitious goal. The Vision Zero Omaha Action Plan aims to eliminate traffic fatalities in Omaha by 2045.
Omaha began drafting a plan in 2017, when former Mayor Jean Stothert’s Active Living Advisory Committee recommended that she create a Vision Zero task force.
“It’s an ambitious but necessary goal,” Stothert said at the time. “The safety of everyone who uses our roads is critically important for a safe city like Omaha.”
The city hired Sobczyk, in 2021, and the City Council approved a $345,896 contract in 2022 to hire a consulting firm, WSP USA, to help create the plan and move the program forward.
The action plan includes recommendations on strategies and policies, detailed analysis on the most dangerous roadways, and identifies 117 priority projects.
Planning and development of a number of traffic safety improvements occurred in 2024 and were implemented within the past year. That includes a roadway reconfiguration on 108th Street between Maple and Fort streets. There were also pedestrian safety enhancements between 51st and 60th streets along Center Street that include medians and new crosswalks.
“It’s a lot of targeted improvements like that that are kind of quick build at a low cost, but a high safety impact,” Sobczyk said. “And then with these quick build projects, the goal is long term, to start budgeting for more of a permanent install when the money is available.”
What comes next
Omaha has seen nine pedestrian deaths so far in 2025. The number is less compared to last year when a record breaking 14 pedestrians were killed.
Traffic injuries and fatalities happen in every part of the city, but a majority occur east of 72nd Street, and especially in North and South Omaha. There are a number of reasons for that, Sobczyk said.
There are older roads, older safety standards that dictate how the city’s transportation system was built, sidewalks built right next to the roadway with little curb protection.
“We’re trying to target these safety measures in those areas in most need,” Sobczyk said. “These tracts are often households with single car ownership, so there’s people more likely to be walking, taking transit, so they’re far more exposed in these areas.”
Vision Zero will soon wrap up its second year. In 2026, the team will continue community engagement on a multi-million dollar safety study that will shape changes to Ames Avenue from 72nd to 24th streets. The corridor is one of the city’s most dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
“If we’re systemically looking at this, this can be addressed, and it’s worked in other countries,” Sobczyk said. “It’s starting to work in cities, and we’re seeing the evidence. And I think Omaha, over time, we’ll start seeing the evidence, with the data ticking downward.”