Where do most hit and runs occur in the US? Across America, about every 43 seconds, a hit and run accident is happening, more often at night, often at a crosswalk, and sometimes ending in a fatality. But which cities and counties are the hotbeds of these crimes? Where are the most hit and run accidents in America happening? Our team at The Law Offices of Christopher Chaney gathered hit and run accident statistics by county and city to find which areas have the highest rates of this horrible type of accident.
What city has the most hit and run accidents in the US?
These are the top counties and cities with highest rates of hit and run accidents in the US when compared to their populations:
- St. Louis City, Missouri (73 deaths) – St. Louis is the city with the highest rate of hit and runs per 100,000 people in the US. A 2023 police report estimated that 40 percent of their reported St. Louis car crashes were hit and runs. Reckless driving carried out in broad daylight has been the norm. Locals cite the fact that road conditions and infrastructure have worsened.
- Shelby County, Tennessee (164 deaths) – USA Today recently named Memphis as the nation’s most dangerous city for drivers, period. But it also ranks very highly on our list for hit and run fatal accidents.
- Bernalillo County, New Mexico (93 deaths) – On the whole, New Mexico as a state has the worst pedestrian fatality rate in the country. Albuquerque is suffering from poor road conditions even though it has tried to make itself safer for pedestrians.
- Orleans Parish, Louisiana (50 deaths) – New Orleans has seen a significant increase of these crimes since 2021. Some blame a decrease in the number of drunk driving arrests as the cause for the area’s increase in traffic fatalities overall.
- Clayton County, Georgia (38 deaths) – Jonesboro, located just south of Atlanta, connects and intersects with several major roadways, but urgent highway improvements are needed. Community members have struggled for years to find safe areas to cross and end up crossing the highway, leading to deaths, including that of small children. Community protests have hoped for the creation of an overpass to avoid this.
Which state has the most hit and runs?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Louisiana was the state with the worst rates for hit and run fatalities when compared to population according to its most recent (2022) data. For just number of instances, however, California is the worst at 490 in 2022.
Zooming out to all crash fatalities, Mississippi has the highest amount of crash deaths per population according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Where are the most hit and run accidents in California?
These are the top Californian counties with the highest rates of hit and run accidents:
- Kern County, California (84 deaths) – According to Smart Growth America, Bakersfield ranks highest out of any city in California for its pedestrian death rate, and 4th in the country. Unsafe pedestrian crosswalks are a part of the problem. Illegal street racing is also a known issue in Bakersfield. According to the nonprofit organization Helping Hit and Run Tragedies (HHART), law makers have received more than 6,000 calls in one year related to street racing.
- Fresno County, California (91 deaths) – Fresno has a rough profile across the board, and local news channel ABC 30 has a section specifically for reporting hit and run accidents. It ranks 7th in the nation for its pedestrian death rate according to Smart Growth America.
- Merced County, California (25 deaths) – According to the 2021 data of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), the city of Merced is second highest in the state for crashes involving under-aged drinking, nearly the lowest in the state for DUI arrests.
- Stanislaus County, California (47 deaths) – Modesto has topped lists for years for many kinds of traffic safety issues, and has actively tried to slow down traffic, including redesigning sections of College Avenue and introducing a Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (NTCP). There has been increasing pressure on local authorities to slow the traffic down.
- Tulare County, California (39 deaths) – Looking at its overall traffic safety profile, Visalia has experienced an unusually high bicyclist fatality and injury OTS ranking, and UC Berkeley cited Tulare county as having a high per capital bicyclist fatality. Hopefully this will change after the city has secured $19.5 million for pedestrian and bike safety projects.
The Data
| Rank | City | Population (2022) | Drivers in Fatal Accidents With a BAC of 0.08+ (2018-2022) | Drivers in Fatal Accidents With a BAC of 0.15+ (2018-2022) | Fatal Drunk Driving Accidents per 100,000 People |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odessa, TX | 112,906 | 31 | 23 | 27.46 |
| 2 | San Bernardino, CA | 220,328 | 40 | 26 | 18.15 |
| 3 | Pueblo, CO | 111,456 | 20 | 17 | 17.94 |
| 4 | Corona, CA | 159,567 | 24 | 17 | 15.04 |
| 5 | Hartford, CT | 120,686 | 18 | 11 | 14.91 |
| 6 | Midland, TX | 134,444 | 19 | 17 | 14.13 |
| 7 | Dallas, TX | 1,299,544 | 181 | 130 | 13.93 |
| 8 | Chattanooga, TN | 184,086 | 25 | 19 | 13.58 |
| 9 | Detroit, MI | 620,376 | 82 | 59 | 13.22 |
| 10 | Charleston, SC | 153,672 | 20 | 15 | 13.01 |
| 11 | Jacksonville, FL | 971,319 | 126 | 84 | 12.97 |
| 12 | Ontario, CA | 179,061 | 22 | 16 | 12.29 |
| 13 | Waterbury, CT | 115,016 | 14 | 10 | 12.17 |
| 14 | Victorville, CA | 137,221 | 16 | 11 | 11.66 |
| 15 | Lansing, MI | 112,537 | 13 | 8 | 11.55 |
| 16 | Houston, TX | 2,302,878 | 258 | 182 | 11.20 |
| 17 | Akron, OH | 188,509 | 21 | 16 | 11.14 |
| 18 | Lubbock, TX | 263,930 | 29 | 24 | 10.99 |
| 19 | Tucson, AZ | 546,574 | 60 | 43 | 10.98 |
| 20 | Temecula, CA | 111,752 | 12 | 10 | 10.74 |
| 21 | Lewisville, TX | 131,215 | 14 | 8 | 10.67 |
| 22 | Greensboro, NC | 301,115 | 32 | 19 | 10.63 |
| 23 | Riverside, CA | 320,764 | 34 | 18 | 10.60 |
| 24 | Colorado Springs, CO | 486,248 | 51 | 35 | 10.49 |
| 25 | Ventura, CA | 109,527 | 11 | 8 | 10.04 |
| 26 | San Antonio, TX | 1,472,909 | 147 | 116 | 9.98 |
| 27 | Glendale, AZ | 252,136 | 25 | 16 | 9.92 |
| 28 | Aurora, CO | 393,537 | 39 | 31 | 9.91 |
| 28 | Moreno Valley, CA | 211,924 | 21 | 15 | 9.91 |
| 30 | Modesto, CA | 218,069 | 21 | 13 | 9.63 |
| 31 | Lakewood, CO | 156,120 | 15 | 10 | 9.61 |
| 32 | Baton Rouge, LA | 221,453 | 21 | 14 | 9.48 |
| 33 | Sacramento, CA | 528,001 | 50 | 33 | 9.47 |
| 33 | Charlotte, NC | 897,720 | 85 | 56 | 9.47 |
| 35 | Fresno, CA | 545,567 | 51 | 31 | 9.35 |
| 36 | Beaumont, TX | 112,089 | 10 | 7 | 8.92 |
| 37 | Vallejo, CA | 123,564 | 11 | 10 | 8.90 |
| 38 | Arlington, TX | 394,602 | 35 | 25 | 8.87 |
| 39 | Louisville, KY | 624,444 | 54 | 35 | 8.65 |
| 40 | Irving, TX | 254,715 | 22 | 16 | 8.64 |
| 41 | Cleveland, OH | 361,607 | 31 | 20 | 8.57 |
| 42 | Kansas City, KS | 153,345 | 13 | 10 | 8.48 |
| 43 | Phoenix, AZ | 1,644,409 | 139 | 100 | 8.45 |
| 43 | Davie, FL | 106,513 | 9 | 7 | 8.45 |
| 45 | Stockton, CA | 321,819 | 27 | 18 | 8.39 |
| 46 | Thornton, CO | 143,282 | 12 | 8 | 8.38 |
| 47 | Billings, MT | 119,960 | 10 | 7 | 8.34 |
| 48 | Kansas City, MO | 509,297 | 42 | 31 | 8.25 |
| 49 | Denver, CO | 713,252 | 57 | 42 | 7.99 |
| 50 | Palmdale, CA | 163,463 | 13 | 6 | 7.95 |
| 51 | Corpus Christi, TX | 316,239 | 25 | 18 | 7.91 |
| 52 | Knoxville, TN | 195,889 | 15 | 10 | 7.66 |
| 53 | Richardson, TX | 118,802 | 9 | 7 | 7.58 |
| 54 | Oceanside, CA | 172,199 | 13 | 8 | 7.55 |
| 55 | Fairfield, CA | 119,338 | 9 | 5 | 7.54 |
| 56 | Tempe, AZ | 185,950 | 14 | 11 | 7.53 |
| 57 | Nashville, TN | 683,622 | 51 | 39 | 7.46 |
| 58 | Bakersfield, CA | 410,647 | 30 | 17 | 7.31 |
| 59 | Hollywood, FL | 152,650 | 11 | 7 | 7.21 |
| 60 | New Haven, CT | 138,915 | 10 | 6 | 7.20 |
| 61 | Everett, WA | 111,337 | 8 | 4 | 7.19 |
| 62 | Lexington, KY | 320,347 | 23 | 14 | 7.18 |
| 63 | Grand Rapids, MI | 196,908 | 14 | 11 | 7.11 |
| 63 | Birmingham, AL | 196,910 | 14 | 8 | 7.11 |
| 65 | Austin, TX | 974,447 | 69 | 53 | 7.08 |
| 66 | Mesa, AZ | 512,498 | 36 | 22 | 7.02 |
| 67 | Richmond, CA | 114,301 | 8 | 4 | 7.00 |
| 68 | Scottsdale, AZ | 243,050 | 17 | 10 | 6.99 |
| 69 | Waco, TX | 143,984 | 10 | 6 | 6.95 |
| 70 | Augusta, GA | 202,096 | 14 | 12 | 6.93 |
| 71 | McAllen, TX | 144,579 | 10 | 6 | 6.92 |
| 72 | Gainesville, FL | 145,214 | 10 | 6 | 6.89 |
| 73 | Jackson, MS | 145,995 | 10 | 8 | 6.85 |
| 73 | Pomona, CA | 146,017 | 10 | 8 | 6.85 |
| 75 | Cincinnati, OH | 309,513 | 21 | 15 | 6.78 |
Sources:
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS)
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Population Totals and Components of Change (2022)
- The Historical Marker Database, U.S. County Seat List
How common are hit and runs?
The Pew Research Foundation estimated in 2022 that 14.5 percent of all crashes involved a hit and run driver. Roughly 5 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes commit hit and run offenses, so it is rare, but not rare enough.
More important hit and run statistics to keep in mind are who it affects most. The vast majority of hit and run deaths are pedestrians – 62 percent, according the League of American Bicyclists, with drivers of motor vehicles at 17 percent, passengers at 11 percent, and bicyclists at 8 percent.
According to the AAA Foundation’s research, between 2006 and 2016, 19.5 percent of all pedestrian fatalities were hit and runs, whereas only 1 percent of vehicle driver deaths were hit and runs. (In 2021, that number was 23 percent.) What that translates to – essentially – is that if you are a pedestrian in America and you are fatally hit by a car, there is a one-in-five chance that that driver will leave the scene.
It’s important to remember that when considering all types of traffic crashes, not only hit and runs, research conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association has found that minorities are disproportionately represented in fatalities across the board. This figure especially affects pedestrians who are black children ages four to fifteen.
Why do drivers flee?
According to the AAA Foundation meta-analysis of numerous studies on the topic, factors that influence whether or not the perpetrator flees the scene include the time of night, the influence of substances, the likely fault of the driver, and the age of the victim. For example, at-fault drivers are less likely to abandon a child under the age of six or an elderly person over the age of eighty compared to an adult between 31 and 55 years old.
Sometimes, there are other factors at play. For all drivers who were caught and involved in fatal crashes, 18.5 percent were driving too fast, 5.2 percent were distracted, and 11 percent were under the influence of drugs, medication or alcohol according to the NHTSA. That’s why it’s important to have reliable legal counsel on your side.
What else should Californians know?
Efforts in the state have been made, but fatalities are up. Between 2018 and 2021, California as a whole saw an increase of hit and run fatalities of 25 percent (page 48) even though crashes and injuries went down (page 77).
Both rural and urban Californian communities are affected by hit and runs. In the areas we serve, such as Los Angeles, as many of 3,097 hit and run crashes occurred in 2021 according to the California OTS. When looking at all fatalities across the board (factoring in population per 100,000), rural communities like Alpine county, Inyo county, and Sierra County also had a surprisingly high rate of deaths in 2022. While the deaths represented may only be a few, no deaths at all from this type of tragedy are acceptable.
What should someone do if they or a loved one was hit?
- Call 911 immediately for medical assistance.
- Don’t leave the scene to follow the driver. You may miss eyewitness accounts, will look suspicious to police, and may put yourself into a more dangerous situation.
- Get as much information as possible, such as the license plate number, the make, model, and color, the damage to the vehicle, and where it was going. If you saw the driver, include their sex, hair length, color, race, attire, tattoos, piercings, or any other distinguishing features.
- Take photos of the scene, yourself, and your vehicle. Make sure your time and location is on the photos.
- Call the police as soon as possible.
- Contact your insurance. Some may require that you do this within 24 hours.
- Ask any witnesses if they can supply additional information and provide a statement to the police.
- Find a lawyer in the area of the accident that’s an expert in hit and runs. Different states, cities, and counties will have different laws and regulations, which will need local expertise, which is why locals in Los Angeles connect with us.
