‘Anybody dying in our city is one too many,’ police chief says amid traffic safety concerns

Speaking in the wake of yet another pedestrian fatality in Palm Springs, Police Chief Andy Mills told the City Council on Wednesday that traffic collisions and deaths remain a serious problem in the city, driven largely by speeding, right-of-way violations and driving under the influence.

Mills presented traffic data from 2023 through 2025, a period that included 14,197 recorded collisions, 549 crashes with visible injuries and 110 severe-injury collisions. Twenty-seven people were killed in traffic incidents during that time, he said.

The most common causes of collisions were violations of right of way, speeding and DUI, which together accounted for more than half of all traffic crashes in Palm Springs, Mills said. Although total collisions declined by about 7% over the three-year period and fatalities dropped by about 20%, Mills cautioned that the numbers fluctuate and remain troubling.

“Anybody dying in our city is one too many,” Mills said.

Pedestrians made up a significant share of traffic deaths. Of the 27 fatalities, eight involved pedestrians, two involved bicyclists and 10 were vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, Mills said. All eight pedestrian deaths occurred when people were walking in the roadway.

The discussion followed the recent death of Ricardo Marano, a well-known Palm Springs resident often called “The Walking Man,” who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Jan. 18 near the 1000 block of East Vista Chino. Police later recovered a black 2005 Chevrolet Silverado believed to be involved in the collision, but no arrests have been made.

Mills cited several factors contributing to traffic dangers, including wide roadways, long distances between traffic signals and a high concentration of alcohol-serving establishments. Palm Springs has 525 establishments licensed to sell alcohol — about 32% of all such businesses in the Coachella Valley — compared with an average of about 80 in neighboring cities, he said.

DUI-related collisions declined by 8% during the period reviewed, but impaired driving remains one of the leading causes of serious crashes. Mills said about 60% of injury-related DUI collisions involved drivers who were not Palm Springs residents, with many coming from elsewhere in the Coachella Valley.

Traffic enforcement has increased sharply in response. Police issued 30,672 traffic citations in 2023 and 60,713 in 2024, Mills said. Enforcement dipped temporarily when the department lost motorcycle officers, but citations have risen again as patrol officers have been directed to prioritize traffic violations.

Mills outlined a three-part approach to reducing collisions: engineering, education and enforcement. Engineering efforts include traffic calming measures such as roadway design changes, while education campaigns aim to encourage safer behavior among drivers, pedestrians and visitors. Enforcement efforts focus on speeding, DUI and right-of-way violations.

Councilmembers also raised concerns about red-light violations and pedestrian safety, particularly in Downtown Palm Springs and along major corridors including Vista Chino, Palm Canyon Drive, Gene Autry Trail and Ramon Road, where collision clusters have been identified.

Mills said improving traffic safety will require both enforcement and community cooperation.

“This is all of our community,” he said. “People have to choose to drive safely.”

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