Fatal crash profile · County

Traffic deaths in Knox County, Tennessee

County in Tennessee · United States

Deaths, 2024
82
Fatal crashes
73
Population
507.6K

In 2024, 82 people died in 73 fatal crashes in Knox County, Tennessee. That was 4.7% fewer than in 2023 (86) and the fewest since 2022. The death rate was 16.2 per 100,000 residents, compared with 16.5 in Tennessee and 11.5 in the United States. Knox County had the 3rd most traffic deaths among Tennessee's counties. Between 2020 and 2024, 351 people died, an average of 70 a year. Pedestrians accounted for 16% of deaths, and 29% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

16.2

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About the same as the rate in Tennessee: 16.5
  • About 1.4 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

14.2

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

  • About 80 percent of the average in Tennessee: 18.0
  • About 1.2 times the average in the United States: 12.3

-5%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

86 deaths in 2023, 82 in 2024

  • Tennessee: -10%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 53 53
2021 77 71
2022 53 50
2023 86 83
2024 82 73

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 11.0
2021 15.8
2022 10.7
2023 17.2
2024 16.2

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Road users

Who died

16%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About 1.2 times the share in Tennessee: 13%
  • About 90 percent of the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 51
Pedestrians 13
Motorcyclists 17
Cyclists 1
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Knox County Share in Tennessee
Pedestrians 13 16% 13%
Motorcyclists 17 21% 16%
Cyclists 1 1% 1%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 26 32% 28%
Speeding-related crashes 23 28% 19%

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

29%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 1.7 times the share in Tennessee: 17%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 28%

32%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 1.3 times the share in Tennessee: 25%
  • About 1.3 times the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Knox County Tennessee United States
Speeding-related 31.5% 25.1% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 28.8% 17.4% 28.1%
At night 60.3% 47.4% 53.6%
At weekends 35.6% 34.5% 32.6%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

60%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About 1.3 times the share in Tennessee: 47%
  • About 1.1 times the share in the United States: 54%

36%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About the same as the share in Tennessee: 34%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 20
1am 8
2am 9
3am 14
4am 8
5am 10
6am 9
7am 9
8am 9
9am 6
10am 6
11am 6
12pm 10
1pm 14
2pm 12
3pm 19
4pm 18
5pm 17
6pm 22
7pm 21
8pm 20
9pm 15
10pm 31
11pm 13

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 66
Mon 49
Tue 35
Wed 55
Thu 48
Fri 40
Sat 37

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 20
Feb 22
Mar 29
Apr 29
May 24
Jun 27
Jul 32
Aug 33
Sep 32
Oct 32
Nov 27
Dec 23

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 252
Cloudy 43
Rain 21
Fog, Smog, Smoke 3
Snow 3

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 136
Dark - Lighted 89
Dark - Not Lighted 83
Dusk 10
Dawn 5
Dark - Unknown Lighting 5

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-4043
  2. SR-62 WESTERN AVE12
  3. US-441 SR-71 CHAPMAN HWY11
  4. US-11/70 SR-1 KINGSTON PK11
  5. US-441 SR-33 N BROADWAY10
  6. I-759
  7. US-25W SR-9 CLINTON PK8
  8. US-11/70 SR-1 E MAGNOLIA AVE8
  9. US-11E/25W SR-9 ASHEVILLE HWY6
  10. SR-62 OAK RIDGE HWY6

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 217
SUVs 111
Pickup trucks 71
Motorcycles 61
Medium and heavy trucks 46
Other vehicles 20
Vans 15
Buses 1

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Ford F-15016
  2. Chevrolet Silverado14
  3. Toyota Camry14
  4. Honda Civic12
  5. Honda CR-V12
  6. Honda Accord9
  7. Nissan Sentra8
  8. Nissan Altima8
  9. Freightliner Cascadia8
  10. Dodge Ram8

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 26, 2024 — 2
Dec 13, 2024 Knoxville 1
Dec 3, 2024 — 1
Dec 1, 2024 Knoxville 1
Dec 1, 2024 Knoxville 1
Nov 20, 2024 Knoxville 1
Nov 12, 2024 Knoxville 1
Nov 9, 2024 Knoxville 1
Nov 4, 2024 — 1
Nov 1, 2024 Knoxville 1
Oct 31, 2024 Knoxville 1
Oct 28, 2024 Knoxville 1
Oct 27, 2024 Knoxville 1
Oct 22, 2024 Knoxville 1
Oct 12, 2024 — 1
Oct 6, 2024 — 1
Oct 3, 2024 — 1
Sep 25, 2024 Knoxville 1
Sep 23, 2024 Knoxville 1
Sep 19, 2024 — 1
Sep 16, 2024 — 1
Sep 15, 2024 Knoxville 2
Sep 9, 2024 Knoxville 1
Sep 9, 2024 Knoxville 2
Sep 1, 2024 — 1

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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.