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Fatal car crashes in West Virginia, county by county

From 2020 through 2024, 1,331 people died in 1,229 crashes on West Virginia roads. That is 15.0 deaths a year for every 100,000 residents, above the US rate of 12.1, and the 15th highest rate of the 50 states and DC.

Kanawha County had the most deaths (137). The road stretch with the most fatal crashes was US-60 (Maccorkle Ave) in Kanawha County (25). In 2024, 256 people were killed, 4% fewer than in 2020.

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

1,331

people killed in crashes, 2020-2024

15.0

deaths a year per 100,000 residents, 15th highest of 51 (US 12.1)

115

pedestrians killed, 9% of deaths (US 18%)

26%

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.

Berkeley County: 11.7 per 100,000 a year, 80 deathsBoone County: 21.5 per 100,000 a year, 22 deathsBraxton County: 19.9 per 100,000 a year, 12 deathsCabell County: 11.1 per 100,000 a year, 51 deathsDoddridge County: 44.6 per 100,000 a year, 17 deathsFayette County: 16.1 per 100,000 a year, 31 deathsGrant County: 31 per 100,000 a year, 17 deathsGreenbrier County: 20.7 per 100,000 a year, 33 deathsHampshire County: 31.9 per 100,000 a year, 38 deathsHardy County: 32.1 per 100,000 a year, 23 deathsHarrison County: 10.5 per 100,000 a year, 34 deathsJackson County: 20.9 per 100,000 a year, 29 deathsJefferson County: 14 per 100,000 a year, 43 deathsKanawha County: 15.8 per 100,000 a year, 137 deathsLewis County: 18.2 per 100,000 a year, 15 deathsLincoln County: 21.7 per 100,000 a year, 21 deathsLogan County: 21.6 per 100,000 a year, 33 deathsMcDowell County: 18.7 per 100,000 a year, 16 deathsMarion County: 5.8 per 100,000 a year, 16 deathsMarshall County: 8.9 per 100,000 a year, 13 deathsMason County: 20.2 per 100,000 a year, 25 deathsMercer County: 16.3 per 100,000 a year, 47 deathsMineral County: 12 per 100,000 a year, 16 deathsMingo County: 17.5 per 100,000 a year, 19 deathsMonongalia County: 9.4 per 100,000 a year, 51 deathsMorgan County: 12.4 per 100,000 a year, 11 deathsNicholas County: 25.8 per 100,000 a year, 31 deathsOhio County: 11.7 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsPreston County: 14.1 per 100,000 a year, 24 deathsPutnam County: 7 per 100,000 a year, 20 deathsRaleigh County: 17.1 per 100,000 a year, 62 deathsRandolph County: 12.5 per 100,000 a year, 17 deathsRoane County: 22.2 per 100,000 a year, 15 deathsSummers County: 24.3 per 100,000 a year, 14 deathsTaylor County: 13.4 per 100,000 a year, 11 deathsUpshur County: 19.5 per 100,000 a year, 23 deathsWayne County: 23.4 per 100,000 a year, 44 deathsWetzel County: 16 per 100,000 a year, 11 deathsWood County: 14.7 per 100,000 a year, 61 deathsWyoming County: 18 per 100,000 a year, 18 deaths
under 1010-1515-2020-3030+ too few crashes

The most dangerous roads in West Virginia

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

#RoadWhereFatal crashesDeaths
1 US-60 Maccorkle Ave Kanawha County, WV 25 26
2 I-81 Berkeley County, WV 17 22
3 US-119 Corridor G Kanawha County, WV 17 18
4 US-60 3Rd Ave Cabell County, WV 15 15
5 US-50 Northwestern Pike Hampshire County, WV 14 17
6 SR-14 Elizabeth Pike Wood County, WV 13 14
7 I-77 Kanawha County, WV 12 14
8 US-119 Grafton Rd Monongalia County, WV 11 12
9 US-340 Berryville Pike Jefferson County, WV 10 14
10 I-77 Toll Raleigh County, WV 10 14
11 SR-3 Coal River Rd Raleigh County, WV 10 12
12 SR-152 James River Rd Wayne County, WV 10 11
13 US-11 Winchester Ave Berkeley County, WV 10 10
14 US-19 Flat Top Rd Raleigh County, WV 9 11
15 US-52 Big Sandy River Rd Wayne County, WV 9 11

Deaths by year

Every West Virginia county

40 counties with 10 or more fatal crashes in five years, by deaths. 15 more had fewer than 10 and are listed after the table.

CountyDeaths 2020-24Per 100K a yearPedestriansPopulation
Kanawha County 137 15.8 28 173,906
Berkeley County 80 11.7 11 136,287
Raleigh County 62 17.1 4 72,379
Wood County 61 14.7 4 82,757
Cabell County 51 11.1 9 91,489
Monongalia County 51 9.4 4 108,697
Mercer County 47 16.3 6 57,524
Wayne County 44 23.4 1 37,589
Jefferson County 43 14.0 2 61,264
Hampshire County 38 31.9 0 23,793
Harrison County 34 10.5 4 64,472
Greenbrier County 33 20.7 5 31,851
Logan County 33 21.6 4 30,560
Fayette County 31 16.1 2 38,600
Nicholas County 31 25.8 1 24,017
Jackson County 29 20.9 1 27,718
Mason County 25 20.2 1 24,770
Ohio County 24 11.7 1 41,090
Preston County 24 14.1 1 34,055
Hardy County 23 32.1 1 14,335
Upshur County 23 19.5 1 23,650
Boone County 22 21.5 5 20,496
Lincoln County 21 21.7 2 19,377
Putnam County 20 7.0 3 57,067
Mingo County 19 17.5 3 21,712
Wyoming County 18 18.0 0 19,964
Doddridge County 17 44.6 0 7,615
Grant County 17 31.0 0 10,971
Randolph County 17 12.5 2 27,190
McDowell County 16 18.7 1 17,147
Marion County 16 5.8 0 55,649
Mineral County 16 12.0 0 26,778
Lewis County 15 18.2 1 16,477
Roane County 15 22.2 0 13,540
Summers County 14 24.3 0 11,544
Marshall County 13 8.9 0 29,354
Braxton County 12 19.9 0 12,051
Morgan County 11 12.4 1 17,780
Taylor County 11 13.4 1 16,438
Wetzel County 11 16.0 1 13,766

Fewer than 10 fatal crashes, 2020-2024: Barbour County (9 deaths), Brooke County (9 deaths), Calhoun County (7 deaths), Clay County (9 deaths), Gilmer County (3 deaths), Hancock County (7 deaths), Monroe County (9 deaths), Pendleton County (9 deaths), Pleasants County (4 deaths), Pocahontas County (9 deaths), Ritchie County (10 deaths), Tucker County (5 deaths), Tyler County (8 deaths), Webster County (5 deaths), Wirt County (3 deaths).

What was involved

FactorWest VirginiaShareUS
Speeding was a factor
a driver coded by police as speeding, racing or too fast for conditions		 319 26% 28%
A driver had been drinking
police reported alcohol involvement for at least one driver		 356 29% 26%
A large truck was involved
a truck over 10,000 lbs		 182 15% 13%
Hit-and-run
a driver left the scene		 35 3% 7%
Pedestrians killed
share of all deaths		 115 9% 18%
Motorcyclists killed
share of all deaths		 185 14% 15%
Bicyclists killed
share of all deaths		 12 1% 3%
Teens (15-19) killed
share of all deaths		 81 6% 7%

After a crash in West Virginia

  1. Get the crash report

    Crashes investigated by a city police department are requested from that department's records unit: for example the Charleston Police Department Records Division is 'the repository for incident and crash reports generated by the Charleston Police Department' (304-348-6400).

    How to get a West Virginia crash report

  2. Know your deadline

    West Virginia gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b)). If a city, county or state vehicle was involved: At least 30 days before suing a governmental agency, the claimant must give the agency's chief officer and the Attorney General written notice of the claim by certified mail. (Claims against the State may also go through the Court of Claims; no separate local-government notice period was checked.)

    Work out your date

  3. Who pays

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

    West Virginia car accident laws

  4. If you were partly at fault

    Your fault does not bar recovery unless it is greater than the combined fault of everyone else, so at 50% you still recover; otherwise your award is reduced by your share of the fault.

    The rule and its statute

  5. The other driver’s minimum coverage

    The legal minimum liability coverage in West Virginia 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 West Virginia. Both take under a minute.

Check my deadline Estimate my claim