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Fatal car crashes in Tennessee, county by county

From 2020 through 2024, 6,377 people died in 5,874 crashes on Tennessee roads. That is 17.6 deaths a year for every 100,000 residents, above the US rate of 12.1, and the 9th highest rate of the 50 states and DC.

Shelby County had the most deaths (1,224). The road stretch with the most fatal crashes was I-240 in Shelby County (57). In 2024, 1,197 people were killed, 2% fewer than in 2020.

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2020-2024 · checked October 2, 2026

6,377

people killed in crashes, 2020-2024

17.6

deaths a year per 100,000 residents, 9th highest of 51 (US 12.1)

902

pedestrians killed, 14% of deaths (US 18%)

17%

of fatal crashes were speeding-related (US 28%)

Death rate by county

Deaths a year per 100,000 residents, 2020-2024. Rural counties often rank highest: fewer people, faster roads and longer waits for an ambulance.

Anderson County: 16.9 per 100,000 a year, 69 deathsBedford County: 14.4 per 100,000 a year, 39 deathsBenton County: 18.5 per 100,000 a year, 15 deathsBledsoe County: 34.6 per 100,000 a year, 27 deathsBlount County: 13.8 per 100,000 a year, 98 deathsBradley County: 12.8 per 100,000 a year, 73 deathsCampbell County: 24.4 per 100,000 a year, 49 deathsCannon County: 26.4 per 100,000 a year, 20 deathsCarroll County: 19.2 per 100,000 a year, 28 deathsCarter County: 16.4 per 100,000 a year, 47 deathsCheatham County: 23.5 per 100,000 a year, 50 deathsChester County: 26.9 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsClaiborne County: 15.1 per 100,000 a year, 25 deathsCocke County: 29.3 per 100,000 a year, 55 deathsCoffee County: 22.2 per 100,000 a year, 68 deathsCrockett County: 34.4 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsCumberland County: 22.6 per 100,000 a year, 74 deathsDavidson County: 17.4 per 100,000 a year, 633 deathsDecatur County: 25.4 per 100,000 a year, 15 deathsDeKalb County: 19.3 per 100,000 a year, 21 deathsDickson County: 20.1 per 100,000 a year, 58 deathsDyer County: 19.8 per 100,000 a year, 36 deathsFayette County: 21.6 per 100,000 a year, 48 deathsFentress County: 21.9 per 100,000 a year, 22 deathsFranklin County: 12.8 per 100,000 a year, 29 deathsGibson County: 18.3 per 100,000 a year, 47 deathsGiles County: 26.5 per 100,000 a year, 41 deathsGrainger County: 21.5 per 100,000 a year, 27 deathsGreene County: 26.2 per 100,000 a year, 96 deathsGrundy County: 19.8 per 100,000 a year, 14 deathsHamblen County: 15.7 per 100,000 a year, 53 deathsHamilton County: 12.1 per 100,000 a year, 233 deathsHardeman County: 25.2 per 100,000 a year, 32 deathsHardin County: 28.2 per 100,000 a year, 39 deathsHawkins County: 12.8 per 100,000 a year, 38 deathsHaywood County: 56.2 per 100,000 a year, 48 deathsHenderson County: 30.5 per 100,000 a year, 43 deathsHenry County: 18.2 per 100,000 a year, 30 deathsHickman County: 30.9 per 100,000 a year, 40 deathsHumphreys County: 30.7 per 100,000 a year, 30 deathsJackson County: 29.1 per 100,000 a year, 18 deathsJefferson County: 14.9 per 100,000 a year, 44 deathsJohnson County: 28.1 per 100,000 a year, 26 deathsKnox County: 13.9 per 100,000 a year, 351 deathsLauderdale County: 21.9 per 100,000 a year, 27 deathsLawrence County: 22 per 100,000 a year, 51 deathsLewis County: 19.4 per 100,000 a year, 13 deathsLincoln County: 20.1 per 100,000 a year, 37 deathsLoudon County: 15.8 per 100,000 a year, 49 deathsMcMinn County: 27.1 per 100,000 a year, 77 deathsMcNairy County: 19.9 per 100,000 a year, 26 deathsMacon County: 17.7 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsMadison County: 22.1 per 100,000 a year, 111 deathsMarion County: 36.2 per 100,000 a year, 54 deathsMarshall County: 16.9 per 100,000 a year, 32 deathsMaury County: 13.2 per 100,000 a year, 75 deathsMeigs County: 31.6 per 100,000 a year, 22 deathsMonroe County: 28.5 per 100,000 a year, 70 deathsMontgomery County: 12.1 per 100,000 a year, 149 deathsMoore County: 53.2 per 100,000 a year, 18 deathsMorgan County: 21.9 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsObion County: 21.1 per 100,000 a year, 32 deathsOverton County: 18.7 per 100,000 a year, 22 deathsPerry County: 28.9 per 100,000 a year, 13 deathsPolk County: 29.4 per 100,000 a year, 27 deathsPutnam County: 17.7 per 100,000 a year, 75 deathsRhea County: 13.8 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsRoane County: 16.6 per 100,000 a year, 47 deathsRobertson County: 21.2 per 100,000 a year, 83 deathsRutherford County: 10.4 per 100,000 a year, 196 deathsScott County: 24 per 100,000 a year, 27 deathsSequatchie County: 28.4 per 100,000 a year, 25 deathsSevier County: 17.4 per 100,000 a year, 87 deathsShelby County: 26.9 per 100,000 a year, 1224 deathsSmith County: 29.8 per 100,000 a year, 31 deathsStewart County: 22.3 per 100,000 a year, 16 deathsSullivan County: 13 per 100,000 a year, 106 deathsSumner County: 8.7 per 100,000 a year, 92 deathsTipton County: 11.9 per 100,000 a year, 37 deathsTrousdale County: 26.3 per 100,000 a year, 16 deathsUnicoi County: 15.7 per 100,000 a year, 14 deathsUnion County: 19.9 per 100,000 a year, 21 deathsWarren County: 16 per 100,000 a year, 35 deathsWashington County: 9.9 per 100,000 a year, 69 deathsWayne County: 23.8 per 100,000 a year, 19 deathsWeakley County: 16.9 per 100,000 a year, 28 deathsWhite County: 11.7 per 100,000 a year, 17 deathsWilliamson County: 6.3 per 100,000 a year, 85 deathsWilson County: 13.2 per 100,000 a year, 112 deaths
under 1010-1515-2020-3030+ too few crashes

The most dangerous roads in Tennessee

Fatal crashes by road within each county, 2020-2024. A long interstate shows up once per county it crosses.

#RoadWhereFatal crashesDeaths
1 I-240 Shelby County, TN 57 67
2 SR-175 Shelby Dr Shelby County, TN 57 65
3 US-51 SR-3 ELVIS PRESLEY BLVD Shelby County, TN 53 56
4 US-64 70 Sr-1 Summer Ave Shelby County, TN 52 58
5 US-61 SR-14 S THIRD ST Shelby County, TN 51 60
6 I-40 Shelby County, TN 50 53
7 I-24 Ent Ramp Davidson County, TN 48 53
8 SR-14 Jackson Ave Shelby County, TN 47 49
9 I-40 Knox County, TN 45 50
10 US-41 70S Sr-1 Murfreesboro Pk Davidson County, TN 43 46
11 Winchester Rd Shelby County, TN 42 44
12 I-24 Rutherford County, TN 38 47
13 I-40 221A Ramp Davidson County, TN 38 43
14 US-129 SR-115 AIRPORT HWY Blount County, TN 37 38
15 I-65 Davidson County, TN 36 38

Deaths by year

Every Tennessee county

89 counties with 10 or more fatal crashes in five years, by deaths. 6 more had fewer than 10 and are listed after the table.

CountyDeaths 2020-24Per 100K a yearPedestriansPopulation
Shelby County 1,224 26.9 317 910,530
Davidson County 633 17.4 191 729,505
Knox County 351 13.9 57 506,748
Hamilton County 233 12.1 39 386,256
Rutherford County 196 10.4 16 376,996
Montgomery County 149 12.1 21 246,025
Wilson County 112 13.2 8 169,948
Madison County 111 22.1 10 100,409
Sullivan County 106 13.0 19 162,703
Blount County 98 13.8 4 142,211
Greene County 96 26.2 5 73,398
Sumner County 92 8.7 9 211,721
Sevier County 87 17.4 8 100,184
Williamson County 85 6.3 4 269,136
Robertson County 83 21.2 8 78,459
McMinn County 77 27.1 5 56,754
Maury County 75 13.2 4 113,411
Putnam County 75 17.7 3 84,894
Cumberland County 74 22.6 5 65,618
Bradley County 73 12.8 7 113,782
Monroe County 70 28.5 3 49,154
Anderson County 69 16.9 5 81,449
Washington County 69 9.9 6 139,642
Coffee County 68 22.2 5 61,285
Dickson County 58 20.1 12 57,641
Cocke County 55 29.3 4 37,596
Marion County 54 36.2 4 29,826
Hamblen County 53 15.7 9 67,715
Lawrence County 51 22.0 3 46,467
Cheatham County 50 23.5 1 42,604
Campbell County 49 24.4 8 40,238
Loudon County 49 15.8 6 62,129
Fayette County 48 21.6 4 44,476
Haywood County 48 56.2 4 17,097
Carter County 47 16.4 3 57,434
Gibson County 47 18.3 5 51,422
Roane County 47 16.6 1 56,742
Jefferson County 44 14.9 4 59,217
Henderson County 43 30.5 6 28,183
Giles County 41 26.5 1 30,971
Hickman County 40 30.9 1 25,859
Bedford County 39 14.4 0 54,228
Hardin County 39 28.2 0 27,617
Hawkins County 38 12.8 4 59,371
Lincoln County 37 20.1 4 36,751
Tipton County 37 11.9 3 62,187
Dyer County 36 19.8 2 36,403
Warren County 35 16.0 5 43,619
Hardeman County 32 25.2 2 25,434
Marshall County 32 16.9 0 37,847
Obion County 32 21.1 1 30,261
Smith County 31 29.8 1 20,783
Henry County 30 18.2 4 32,883
Humphreys County 30 30.7 1 19,554
Franklin County 29 12.8 3 45,137
Carroll County 28 19.2 1 29,107
Weakley County 28 16.9 0 33,162
Bledsoe County 27 34.6 3 15,591
Grainger County 27 21.5 0 25,073
Lauderdale County 27 21.9 1 24,630
Polk County 27 29.4 0 18,338
Scott County 27 24.0 3 22,517
Johnson County 26 28.1 0 18,506
McNairy County 26 19.9 1 26,103
Claiborne County 25 15.1 4 33,070
Sequatchie County 25 28.4 1 17,620
Chester County 24 26.9 2 17,876
Crockett County 24 34.4 1 13,973
Macon County 24 17.7 1 27,189
Morgan County 24 21.9 2 21,954
Rhea County 24 13.8 1 34,759
Fentress County 22 21.9 3 20,129
Meigs County 22 31.6 0 13,937
Overton County 22 18.7 1 23,551
DeKalb County 21 19.3 0 21,747
Union County 21 19.9 0 21,064
Cannon County 20 26.4 1 15,142
Wayne County 19 23.8 0 15,974
Jackson County 18 29.1 1 12,376
Moore County 18 53.2 0 6,773
White County 17 11.7 1 29,108
Stewart County 16 22.3 1 14,365
Trousdale County 16 26.3 1 12,159
Benton County 15 18.5 0 16,173
Decatur County 15 25.4 1 11,800
Grundy County 14 19.8 1 14,148
Unicoi County 14 15.7 2 17,872
Lewis County 13 19.4 0 13,418
Perry County 13 28.9 0 8,987

Fewer than 10 fatal crashes, 2020-2024: Clay County (6 deaths), Hancock County (8 deaths), Houston County (9 deaths), Lake County (8 deaths), Pickett County (1 death), Van Buren County (9 deaths).

Cities

CityDeaths 2020-24Per 100K a yearPedestriansPopulation
Memphis 1,120 36.7 301 610,919
Knoxville 236 23.8 43 198,722

What was involved

FactorTennesseeShareUS
Speeding was a factor
a driver coded by police as speeding, racing or too fast for conditions		 987 17% 28%
A driver had been drinking
police reported alcohol involvement for at least one driver		 1,454 25% 26%
A large truck was involved
a truck over 10,000 lbs		 755 13% 13%
Hit-and-run
a driver left the scene		 472 8% 7%
Pedestrians killed
share of all deaths		 902 14% 18%
Motorcyclists killed
share of all deaths		 864 14% 15%
Bicyclists killed
share of all deaths		 54 1% 3%
Teens (15-19) killed
share of all deaths		 449 7% 7%

After a crash in Tennessee

  1. Get the crash report

    City police and sheriffs: you can contact the investigating agency, and many (for example Nashville) point to the state portal; Nashville says users of PurchaseTNCrash.gov must certify they were involved, have an interest in property involved, or are a legal or insurance representative of a party.

    How to get a Tennessee crash report

  2. Know your deadline

    Tennessee gives you one year to file a personal injury lawsuit (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1)(A)). If a city, county or state vehicle was involved: Tennessee sets no notice-of-claim period in the Governmental Tort Liability Act; an action against a governmental entity must be commenced within twelve months after the cause of action arises.

    Work out your date

  3. Who pays

    Tennessee is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the injuries and damage.

    Tennessee car accident laws

  4. If you were partly at fault

    If you are 50% or more at fault you recover nothing; below 50%, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault (the 49% rule).

    The rule and its statute

  5. The other driver’s minimum coverage

    The legal minimum liability coverage in Tennessee is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $25,000 for property (25/50/25).

    Every state’s minimums

Check your deadline and a rough claim range

A filing date and a rough value range for Tennessee. Both take under a minute.

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