Fatal crash profile · County

Traffic deaths in Jefferson County, Kentucky

County in Kentucky · United States

Deaths, 2024
113
Fatal crashes
109
Population
794.2K

In 2024, 113 people died in 109 fatal crashes in Jefferson County, Kentucky. That was 15.7% fewer than in 2023 (134) and the fewest in any year since 2020. The death rate was 14.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with 15.4 in Kentucky and 11.5 in the United States. Jefferson County had the most traffic deaths of any county in Kentucky. Between 2020 and 2024, 624 people died, an average of 125 a year. Pedestrians accounted for 36% of deaths, and 19% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

14.2

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About the same as the rate in Kentucky: 15.4
  • About 1.2 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

15.9

average deaths per 100,000 residents a year, 2020–2024

  • About the same as the average in Kentucky: 17.0
  • About 1.3 times the average in the United States: 12.3

-16%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

134 deaths in 2023, 113 in 2024

  • Kentucky: -13%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 124 116
2021 124 116
2022 129 123
2023 134 130
2024 113 109

People who died within 30 days of a crash. A fatal crash can kill more than one person.

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Deaths per 100,000 residents, 2020–2024
Category Deaths per 100,000
2020 15.8
2021 15.9
2022 16.6
2023 17.1
2024 14.2

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Road users

Who died

36%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 3 times the share in Kentucky: 13%
  • About double the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 50
Pedestrians 41
Motorcyclists 20
Cyclists 2
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Jefferson County Share in Kentucky
Pedestrians 41 36% 13%
Motorcyclists 20 18% 17%
Cyclists 2 2% 2%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 35 31% 24%
Speeding-related crashes 21 19% 13%

Alcohol-impaired and speeding-related count everyone killed in those crashes, so a death can appear in more than one row.

Crash factors

Speeding, alcohol, night and weekend crashes

19%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.5 times the share in Kentucky: 13%
  • About two-thirds of the share in the United States: 28%

27%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About the same as the share in Kentucky: 26%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Jefferson County Kentucky United States
Speeding-related 26.6% 25.8% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 19.3% 13.0% 28.1%
At night 66.1% 48.1% 53.6%
At weekends 26.6% 32.0% 32.6%

Share of fatal crashes. Alcohol-involved means a police-reported drinking driver.

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Timing

When crashes happen

66%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 1.4 times the share in Kentucky: 48%
  • About 1.2 times the share in the United States: 54%

27%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About 85 percent of the share in Kentucky: 32%
  • About 80 percent of the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 26
1am 36
2am 33
3am 30
4am 21
5am 21
6am 13
7am 14
8am 10
9am 14
10am 8
11am 5
12pm 21
1pm 15
2pm 20
3pm 20
4pm 25
5pm 25
6pm 36
7pm 41
8pm 36
9pm 36
10pm 48
11pm 39

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 105
Mon 79
Tue 70
Wed 70
Thu 94
Fri 95
Sat 81

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 42
Feb 41
Mar 51
Apr 39
May 44
Jun 52
Jul 60
Aug 64
Sep 46
Oct 62
Nov 57
Dec 36

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 412
Cloudy 129
Rain 45
Fog, Smog, Smoke 3
Severe Crosswinds 1
Snow 1

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Light conditions at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Daylight 205
Dark - Not Lighted 190
Dark - Lighted 166
Dark - Unknown Lighting 17
Dusk 9
Dawn 6

All crashes 2020–2024. Crashes where conditions were not reported are left out.

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Roads and vehicles

Where and what, 2020–2024

Roads with the most fatal crashes

  1. I-26422
  2. I-6522
  3. I-6420
  4. US-31 DIXIE HWY19
  5. SR-61 PRESTON HWY18
  6. I-26515
  7. SR-1065 OUTER LOOP10
  8. US-31W DIXIE HWY10
  9. SR-1934 GREENBELT HWY10
  10. SR-1747 FERN VALLEY RD10

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 443
SUVs 179
Motorcycles 107
Pickup trucks 96
Medium and heavy trucks 58
Vans 32
Other vehicles 31
Buses 6
Other light trucks 5

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Ford F-15027
  2. Toyota Camry26
  3. Ford Escape20
  4. Nissan Altima18
  5. Ford Focus14
  6. Chevrolet Impala14
  7. Freightliner Cascadia13
  8. Ford Fusion13
  9. Honda Civic12
  10. Ford Explorer12

Reflects how common a vehicle is as well as crash involvement; not a safety rating.

Crashes

Fatal crashes

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Fatal crashes in 2024. Crashes without reported coordinates are not shown.

Filter crashes
Crash factors
Date Location Deaths
Dec 28, 2024 Louisville 1
Dec 26, 2024 Jeffersontown 1
Dec 17, 2024 Louisville 1
Dec 2, 2024 Louisville 1
Nov 25, 2024 Louisville 1
Nov 23, 2024 Louisville 1
Nov 22, 2024 Louisville 1
Nov 16, 2024 St. Matthews 1
Nov 4, 2024 Louisville 1
Nov 3, 2024 Louisville 2
Nov 2, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 31, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 31, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 30, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 29, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 25, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 25, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 24, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 20, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 12, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 4, 2024 Louisville 1
Oct 2, 2024 Louisville 1
Sep 28, 2024 Louisville 1
Sep 27, 2024 Louisville 1
Sep 20, 2024 Louisville 1

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Nearby and related

Get updates for Jefferson County, Kentucky

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Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020–2024. A fatal crash is one in which at least one person died within 30 days. Population: US Census Bureau estimates.