BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) — Officials are considering safety changes on Kentucky Highway 44 in Bullitt County after several serious crashes in recent months.
Highway 44 stretches about 20 miles across the county. Data from Kentucky State Police shows there were 514 crashes on the road last year, resulting in 119 injuries and two deaths. As of March 2, there had already been 83 crashes and 26 injuries in 2026. In the 35 days since, another 59 crashes have been reported.
The Bullitt County Fiscal Court recently voted to request the state lower the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph along the stretch between Sunview Lane and the Shepherdsville city limits. According to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet data from 2024, more than 11,000 vehicles travel that section daily.
Last month, investigators said a juvenile driving a truck was traveling west on KY 44 near Mt. Washington when the passenger-side tires veered off the road onto a steep shoulder. The driver overcorrected, crossed into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with an SUV.
Sarah Weisman, 27, crashed into a small embankment, and her vehicle overturned. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The juvenile driver was not injured.
Within hours of media coverage of the crash on March 2, state crews arrived to fill sections of the shoulder and repair damaged areas.
In the stretch between Douglas Lane and Foster Lane where the fatal crash occurred, there were 24 crashes in 2025 alone. For residents like Scott Sztanya, who lives along the highway, the numbers come as no surprise.
The crash that killed Weisman ended in his yard. “I’ve had more than my fair share of accidents in my yard, but in the last 12 months, I’ve had 12 accidents. Nine of them were reportable,” he said.
Sztanya added that traffic has significantly increased over the years. “I’ve lived here 25 years, and traffic has probably tripled or even quadrupled,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet previously said safety remains a top priority and that officials are reviewing crash data to assess roadway conditions. Meanwhile, county leaders are pushing for immediate action through a reduced speed limit.
“That is the idea for now,” Bullitt County Judge Executive Jerry Summers said. “It’s the best we can do with what we have right now.”
Summers said both Shepherdsville police and the county sheriff’s office would enforce the lower speed limit if approved. However, Sztanya believes enforcement will be key and says long-term improvements like widening the road are necessary to better protect drivers.
“Unless it’s strictly enforced, I don’t see it making much difference,” he said.
The state could take up to a year to decide whether to approve the proposed speed limit change.
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