Car accident statistics for Fayette County, Kentucky (2020-2024)

Car accident deaths in Fayette County by year

Car accident deaths rose from 24 in 2020 to 40 in 2021, then fell to 34 in 2022. The count rose to 45 in 2023 before falling to 34 in 2024. The highest count was in 2023, and the lowest was in 2020. The 2024 count was 10 deaths higher than the 2020 count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

All traffic deaths followed the same sequence of increases and decreases: 26 in 2020, 42 in 2021, 38 in 2022, 49 in 2023 and 37 in 2024. The car accident share was 92.3%, 95.2%, 89.5%, 91.8% and 91.9%, respectively. That share was highest in 2021 and lowest in 2022, while the car accident death count was identical in 2022 and 2024.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Deaths within 30 days in crashes on public roads. 2024 figures come from the FARS Annual Report File and can be revised.

Who died in Fayette County car accidents

People in cars, SUVs, pickups or vans accounted for 111 deaths, or 62.7% of car accident deaths in Fayette County from 2020 through 2024. This was the largest person category. People in other vehicles accounted for 18 deaths, or 10.2%, making it the smallest category. Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) accounted for 48 deaths, or 27.1%.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

These categories describe the people killed in crashes involving a passenger vehicle. The car accident count therefore includes deaths beyond the passenger vehicles themselves. The Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping) label follows FARS classifications rather than a literal test of position outside a vehicle.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

How the fatal car crashes happened

By manner of collision, Angle (side impact) accounted for 44 car accident deaths (24.9%), Head-on for 25 (14.1%), Rear-end for 3 (1.7%) and Sideswipe for 7 (4.0%). Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport accounted for 98 deaths (55.4%).^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Manner of collision identifies the first harmful event. The latter category includes events such as striking a cyclist, a parked vehicle or a fixed object, or a rollover, rather than a collision between motor vehicles in transport. A vehicle stopped in traffic can still be in transport; physical movement is not the distinction.^{[1][2][3][4][5][7]}

Time of day and setting

Nighttime, defined as 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., accounted for 94 car accident deaths in Fayette County from 2020 through 2024, or 53.1%. Daytime, from 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m., accounted for 83 deaths, or 46.9%. The nighttime count was higher than the daytime count.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The urban classification recorded 126 deaths (71.2%), while the rural classification recorded 51 (28.8%). These classifications describe crash locations. Separately, crashes that also involved a large truck accounted for 8 car accident deaths, or 4.5%. Those deaths belong to the passenger-vehicle-involved crash count, with large-truck involvement recorded as an additional characteristic.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Car accident death rate compared with Kentucky and the United States

Fayette County's car accident death rate was 11.0 average annual deaths per 100,000 residents for 2020 through 2024. Kentucky's rate was 14.6, and the national rate was 10.5. The county rate was lower than the state rate and higher than the national rate. No neighboring county rates are listed in the supplied figures.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

The rates use deaths divided by the sum of annual Census Bureau population estimates for the period, multiplied by 100,000. They do not adjust for miles driven or visitors. Fayette County recorded 177 deaths, compared with 3,307 for Kentucky and 176,219 nationally. These counts describe deaths by crash location; the population denominator does not make them counts of residents who died.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Rates divide deaths by the sum of annual Census population estimates, so they show deaths per 100,000 residents per year. They do not adjust for miles driven or for visitors.

Recorded characteristics of all fatal crashes

Recorded characteristics cover all fatal crashes in Fayette County, of any vehicle type, rather than only car accident deaths. Shares use all traffic deaths: Speeding-related, 39 deaths (20.3%); Roadway departure, 75 (39.1%); At an intersection, 62 (32.3%); Pedestrian involved, 47 (24.5%); Motorcycle involved, 28 (14.6%); Hit-and-run, 23 (12.0%); Driver distraction reported, 14 (7.3%); and In a work zone, 2 (1.0%).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A crash can have several recorded characteristics, so these rows overlap and do not add to 100%. The entries describe recorded characteristics, not findings of fault or cause. Each death count retains the broader all-traffic scope of this table.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

A crash can carry several characteristics, so the rows overlap and do not add to 100%. These are recorded characteristics, not findings of fault.

About these figures

FARS is NHTSA's census of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes, requiring a motor vehicle on a trafficway customarily open to the public and a death within 30 days. It excludes nonfatal crashes and injuries. Counts follow crash location, not residency. If searching for a car accident lawyer, read these figures as counts grouped by crash location.^[8][6][7]

The 2020 through 2023 figures use FARS Final Files; 2024 uses the revisable Annual Report File. Rates divide deaths by summed annual Census Bureau population estimates, Vintage 2025, then multiply by 100,000. The separate July 1, 2024 estimate is not the denominator. The result measures average annual deaths per 100,000 residents without adjustments for miles driven or visitors.^[8][6][7]

See also

• Kentucky car accident statistics (2020-2024)