COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new study revealed that Ohio ranks in the top 10 states where drivers are most likely to crash into a fixed object, such as trees, curbs and light poles.

The study by personal injury lawyers Anidjar & Levine analyzed crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find which states had the highest proportion of fatal accidents caused by crashing into a fixed object between 2017 to 2021.

Ohio was among the states with the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving a fixed object, ranking in ninth place. The study found that 59.5% of fatal crashes in Ohio involved a fixed object.

Maine was the state most affected by the issue, with 64.3% of fatal crashes involving a fixed object. Trees were the fixed objects most often involved in deadly collisions.  

New Mexico is the state where people are least likely to crash into a fixed object according to the study, with 27.4% of all deadly car crashes involving a fixed object – the lowest rate in the U.S.  

The study showed out of the 116,469 nationwide fatal crashes between 2017 to 2021, 55,274 of them involved a fixed object, equating to almost half. Trees are the deadliest fixed objects to crash into, accounting for 12,472 of all fatal crashes.  

The second deadliest fixed objects involved in the fatal crashes were curbs, according to the study. They accounted for 6,422 of the total fatal crashes. Curb crashes can result from poor visibility at intersections and can cause damage to the structure of a vehicle, the study said.