VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — "Pump the brakes or pay the price!" That’s the message the Virginia Beach Police Department is trying to get across to drivers.
Officers told 13News Now they were seeing an uptick in serious accidents city-wide, so starting the weekend of July 10, there will be more red and blue lights on the road.
"Different things will often run through my mind depending on the scene, every crash is different," said Officer Rachel Nash.
Lately, Nash (with the Virginia Beach Police Crash Team) is doing the toughest part of her job far too often.
"Going to the families, knocking on their door early in the morning and telling them that their family member was involved in a crash and it resulted in a fatality," Nash said. "Hearing how upset they get, having people cry on my shoulder."
The Crash Team is on high alert. So far this year, Nash said they’ve seen 17 fatal crashes. That's in just over six months.
"We saw 24 fatalities last year," Nash said.
Virginia DMV’s traffic records electronic system shows deadly crashes are also creeping up in Norfolk, with 25 last year and 13 so far in 2021.
Chesapeake had 12 last year and has already hit 12 again this year.
“If you stop paying attention to the road for one second too much and you are speeding, it could result in a very serious or fatal crash,” Nash explained.
Starting this weekend, Nash said there will be a lot more eyes on the road as the team increases patrols and checkpoints.
"We go out into an area and enforce all traffic and equipment violations," Nash said. "Which results in a lot of us having multiple traffic stops in an area."
If drivers don’t have the money for a ticket, she suggests they pump the brakes.
"We get a variety of explanations," Nash said. "What means the most to me is when I stop people and they just own up to it, they say, 'Yup I was speeding you got me, I’m sorry.'”
Nash said driving 20 miles over the speed limit can slap a driver with a high fine, court appearance or possible jail time.
Next Saturday, the crash team will start checkpoints across the city and then randomly throughout the summer.