Fatal crash profile · City

Traffic deaths in Charleston, West Virginia

City in Kanawha County · West Virginia · United States

Deaths, 2024
6
Fatal crashes
6
Population
46.4K

In 2024, 6 people died in 6 fatal crashes in Charleston, West Virginia. That was 50.0% more than in 2023 (4) and the most since 2022. The death rate was 12.9 per 100,000 residents, compared with 16.1 in Kanawha County, 14.5 in West Virginia and 11.5 in the United States. Between 2020 and 2024, 33 people died, an average of 6.6 a year. That rate is based on fewer than 20 deaths, so it can swing a lot from year to year. Pedestrians accounted for 50% of deaths, and 17% of fatal crashes were speeding-related.

Deaths

Traffic deaths

12.9

deaths per 100,000 residents in 2024

  • About 80 percent of the rate in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 16.1
  • About 90 percent of the rate in West Virginia: 14.5
  • About 1.1 times the rate in the United States: 11.5

+50%

change in deaths from 2023 to 2024

4 deaths in 2023, 6 in 2024

  • Kanawha County, West Virginia: +8%
  • West Virginia: -2%
  • The United States: -4%
Traffic deaths by year, 2020–2024
Category Deaths Fatal crashes
2020 7 7
2021 5 5
2022 11 10
2023 4 4
2024 6 6

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 14.4
2021 10.4
2022 23.3
2023 8.6
2024 12.9

Uses Census population estimates, available from 2000.

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Road users

Who died

50%

of deaths were pedestrians

  • About double the share in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 25%
  • About 5 times the share in West Virginia: 10%
  • About 3 times the share in the United States: 18%
Who died in 2024
Category Deaths
Vehicle occupants and others 1
Pedestrians 3
Motorcyclists 2
Cyclists 0
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Deaths by type, 2024
Type Deaths Share in Charleston Share in Kanawha County
Pedestrians 3 50% 25%
Motorcyclists 2 33% 18%
Cyclists 0 0% 0%
Alcohol-impaired driving crashes 0 0% 29%
Speeding-related crashes 1 17% 29%

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

17%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related

  • About 55 percent of the share in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 30%
  • About 55 percent of the share in West Virginia: 30%
  • About 60 percent of the share in the United States: 28%

17%

of fatal crashes involved a drinking driver

  • About 55 percent of the share in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 30%
  • About 55 percent of the share in West Virginia: 30%
  • About two-thirds of the share in the United States: 25%
Crash factors in 2024
Category Charleston Kanawha County West Virginia United States
Speeding-related 16.7% 29.6% 30.3% 24.8%
Alcohol-involved 16.7% 29.6% 30.3% 28.1%
At night 50.0% 55.6% 42.9% 53.6%
At weekends 0.0% 33.3% 35.7% 32.6%

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

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Timing

When crashes happen

50%

of fatal crashes happened at night

  • About the same as the share in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 56%
  • About 1.2 times the share in West Virginia: 43%
  • About the same as the share in the United States: 54%

0%

of fatal crashes happened at weekends

  • About 5 percent of the share in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 33%
  • About 5 percent of the share in West Virginia: 36%
  • About 5 percent of the share in the United States: 33%
Fatal crashes by hour of day
Category Fatal crashes
12am 0
1am 1
2am 2
3am 1
4am 0
5am 0
6am 1
7am 0
8am 2
9am 1
10am 1
11am 2
12pm 1
1pm 1
2pm 4
3pm 1
4pm 0
5pm 0
6pm 1
7pm 5
8pm 2
9pm 1
10pm 2
11pm 3

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by day of week
Category Fatal crashes
Sun 3
Mon 1
Tue 3
Wed 3
Thu 9
Fri 9
Sat 4

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Fatal crashes by month
Category Fatal crashes
Jan 3
Feb 3
Mar 3
Apr 1
May 4
Jun 2
Jul 3
Aug 4
Sep 2
Oct 3
Nov 4
Dec 0

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Conditions

Weather and light

Weather at the time of the crash
Category Fatal crashes
Clear 23
Cloudy 4
Rain 4
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 18
Dark - Not Lighted 7
Dark - Lighted 6
Dawn 1

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-774
  2. US-1193
  3. US-603
  4. SR-1142
  5. US-119 PENNSYLVANIA AVE2
  6. US-60 WASHINGTON ST E2
  7. CR-211
  8. CR-114/011
  9. CENTRAL AVE1
  10. 7TH AVE1

Road names as recorded in police reports.

Vehicles involved, by type
Category Vehicles
Cars 19
SUVs 8
Pickup trucks 6
Motorcycles 5
Medium and heavy trucks 4
Other vehicles 2
Vans 1

All crashes 2020–2024.

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Vehicles most often involved

  1. Hyundai Elantra3
  2. GMC Sierra2
  3. Toyota Camry2
  4. Toyota Corolla2
  5. BMW F 700 GS1
  6. Buick LeSabre1
  7. Cadillac Escalade1
  8. Chevrolet Camaro1
  9. Chevrolet Colorado1
  10. Chevrolet Equinox1

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 Deaths
Oct 24, 2024 1
Oct 11, 2024 1
May 24, 2024 1
May 10, 2024 1
Mar 29, 2024 1
Jan 18, 2024 1
Nov 10, 2023 1
Oct 19, 2023 1
Aug 30, 2023 1
Jul 11, 2023 1
Nov 24, 2022 1
Aug 1, 2022 1
Jul 23, 2022 1
Jun 28, 2022 1
May 21, 2022 1
Mar 11, 2022 1
Feb 26, 2022 2
Feb 18, 2022 1
Feb 10, 2022 1
Jan 6, 2022 1
Nov 4, 2021 1
Nov 3, 2021 1
Sep 15, 2021 1
May 18, 2021 1
Jan 24, 2021 1

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Nearby and related

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.