Fatal Crashes Only
This report covers fatal crashes only, from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System — the federal census of every crash on a US public road that killed someone within 30 days. It does not include injury or property-damage-only crashes, and its totals are not comparable with the all-severity crash reports published elsewhere on this site.
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YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA · 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/california/fatal/los-angeles/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
321 CRASHES IN
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
2023
Fatal crashes in Los Angeles decreased by 6.41%, from 343 in the prior year to 321 in the current year. Total fatalities also decreased by 4.21%, from 356 to 341. A notable shift was the 52.9% increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks, rising from 17 to 26.
321
▼ -6.4%was 343
Total Crash Events
341
▼ -4.2%was 356
Persons Killed
238
▼ -3.6%was 247
Persons Injured
80
▼ -2.4%was 82
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (341) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (321) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
The overall trend shows a decrease in fatal crashes year-over-year. Fatal crashes decreased by 22, from 343 in the prior year to 321 in the current year, representing a 6.41% reduction. Total fatalities also decreased by 15, from 356 to 341, a 4.21% decline.
80
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -2.4% vs prior (82)
The number of fatal hit-and-run crashes slightly decreased from 82 in the prior period to 80 in the current period. However, the hit-and-run rate, as a percentage of all fatal crashes, increased from 23.9% to 24.9% year-over-year.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
153
Pedestrians Killed
11
Cyclists Killed
171
Motorists Killed
6
Other Killed
12
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
226
Motorists Injured
0
Other Injured
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The peak day for fatal crashes shifted from Saturday in the prior period (58 fatal crashes) to Sunday in the current period (63 fatal crashes). The peak hour also changed, moving from 2 AM (32 fatal crashes) in the prior period to 10 PM (27 fatal crashes) in the current period.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Road & Environmental Conditions
Fatal crashes occurring in clear weather conditions decreased from 313 in the prior period to 267 in the current period. Conversely, fatal crashes in rainy conditions increased significantly from 6 to 22. Fatal crashes during daylight hours decreased from 90 to 72, while those in dark-lighted conditions increased from 186 to 194.
Weather
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved in fatal crashes, though its count decreased from 78 to 71. Honda rose in ranking, with its involvement increasing from 42 to 53, while Ford's involvement decreased from 43 to 32. Among persons involved, the 55-64 age group saw the largest decrease, from 109 to 89, while the 65+ age group experienced a slight increase from 70 to 73.
Top Vehicle Makes (465 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
70 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (756 persons with recorded sex)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Fatal crashes at 35 mph speed zones increased by 19, from 136 in the prior period to 155 in the current period, making it the most frequent speed zone for fatal crashes. Concurrently, fatal crashes at 40 mph zones decreased by 19, from 49 to 30. Fatal crashes at 25 mph zones also saw a decrease from 36 to 19.
Fatal crashes by zone: 15 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 20 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 25 mph: 19 of 19 (100%) · 30 mph: 10 of 10 (100%) · 35 mph: 155 of 155 (100%) · 40 mph: 30 of 30 (100%) · 45 mph: 20 of 20 (100%) · 50 mph: 4 of 4 (100%) · 55 mph: 32 of 32 (100%) · 65 mph: 44 of 44 (100%)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Posted speed limit at crash location
Manner of Collision
The dominant manner of collision in both periods was "The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport," decreasing from 252 fatal crashes in the prior period to 228 in the current period. Angle collisions also decreased slightly from 54 to 52 fatal crashes. Fatal sideswipe - same direction collisions increased from 6 to 9.
Manner of Collision
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Vehicle Type
The most common vehicle body type in fatal crashes was the "4-door sedan, hardtop," which saw a slight decrease from 145 in the prior period to 141 in the current period. Fatal crashes involving two-wheel motorcycles decreased from 50 to 38. Conversely, fatal crashes involving large trucks (truck-tractors and single-unit straight trucks) increased from 17 to 26.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 25 reported. 16 additional (55 total) not shown: Minivan (Chrysler Town and Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager, Voyager, Honda-Odyssey, ...), Station Wagon (excluding van and truck based), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR greater than 26,000 lbs.), Sedan/Hardtop, number of doors unknown, 3-door/2-door hatchback, Large Van-Includes van-based buses (B150-B350, Sportsman, Royal Maxiwagon, Ram, Tradesman,...), Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 10,001 to 19,500 lbs.), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 19,501 to 26,000 lbs.), Motor Scooter, Transit Bus (City Bus), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Utility station wagon (includes suburban limousines, Suburban, Travellall, Grand Wagoneer), Camper or Motor Home, unknown GVWR, School Bus, Other or Unknown automobile type.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
The vast majority of fatal crashes occurred in urban areas in both periods, with 318 in the current period and 340 in the prior period. Rural fatal crashes decreased from 3 in the prior period to 2 in the current period. The urban share remains overwhelmingly dominant.
Rural vs Urban
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Functional Class
Roadways classified as "Other Principal Arterial" remained the functional class with the highest number of fatal crashes, increasing slightly from 152 in the prior period to 157 in the current period. Fatal crashes on Interstates decreased from 54 to 48. Minor Arterials also saw a decrease in fatal crashes from 63 to 56.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
The "City or Municipal Highway Agency" owned the trafficways where the most fatal crashes occurred in both periods, though the count decreased from 200 to 185. Fatal crashes on State Highway Agency roads also decreased significantly from 104 to 85. Fatal crashes on County Highway Agency roads saw a slight increase from 6 to 8.
Roadway Ownership
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Type
The most common person type involved in fatal crashes was "driver," decreasing from 495 in the prior period to 461 in the current period. Pedestrian involvement saw a slight decrease from 167 to 165, while bicyclist involvement decreased more significantly from 21 to 11. Passenger involvement also decreased from 173 to 160.
Person Type
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Injury Severity
The number of fatalities decreased from 356 in the prior period to 341 in the current period. Persons with serious injuries (A) increased from 53 to 68. Persons with minor injuries (B) decreased from 84 to 64, and those with no reported injuries (O) decreased from 275 to 239.
Person Injury Severity
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Occupant Safety Equipment
The most common safety equipment reported was "Shoulder and Lap Belt Used," decreasing from 428 in the prior period to 382 in the current period. The number of participants reported with "None Used/Not Applicable" safety equipment also decreased from 128 to 117.
Occupant Safety Equipment
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Point of Impact
The "12 Clock Point" (front) remained the dominant point of impact in fatal crashes, increasing slightly from 251 in the prior period to 259 in the current period. Impacts at the "6 Clock Point" (rear) decreased from 32 to 23. Impacts on the right side increased from 16 to 25.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 12 smaller categories (30 records): Left-Back Side (5), Non-Collision (5), Undercarriage (4), 11 Clock Point (4), Reported as Unknown (4), 9 Clock Point (2), 4 Clock Point (1), 10 Clock Point (1), 5 Clock Point (1), 2 Clock Point (1), 1 Clock Point (1), 3 Clock Point (1).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Vehicles Per Crash
The majority of fatal crashes in both periods involved a single vehicle, with 193 such crashes in the current period compared to 196 in the prior period. Two-vehicle fatal crashes decreased from 112 to 87. There was one fatal crash involving 10 vehicles in the current period, compared to one involving 7 vehicles in the prior period.
Vehicles Per Crash
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Data Sources & Methodology
Primary Data Source
All crash data in this report is sourced from NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes), accessed programmatically via the NHTSA FARS Open Data API (SODA). This dataset contains official police-reported motor vehicle traffic crash records maintained by the reporting jurisdiction's law enforcement agency. Records are published to the open data portal by the municipality and are subject to the portal's terms of use.
Data Retrieval
- Access method: NHTSA FARS Open Data API (SoQL queries)
- Data format: Structured JSON via REST API
- Record types queried: Crash events, person records, and vehicle unit records
- Date filter applied: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
- Report generated: August 5, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
- Geographic scope: Los Angeles, California
- Total crash records analyzed: 321
- Total persons involved: 818
- Total vehicles involved: 465
Analytical Methodology
- Severity classification: Uses the KABCO injury scale (K=Fatal, A=Incapacitating injury, B=Non-incapacitating injury, C=Possible injury, O=No injury/property damage only), the standard classification in U.S. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Severity is assigned per crash event based on the most severe injury in that crash. A single fatal crash (K) may involve multiple fatalities; therefore the "Persons Killed" count in the headline KPIs may differ from the "Fatal" crash count in the severity breakdown.
- Contributing factors: Reflect the officer-determined primary contributory cause recorded at the time of the crash report. These are preliminary determinations and may not reflect final investigation findings.
- Hit-and-run classification: Based on the hit-and-run indicator field in the official crash report, as determined by the responding officer at the scene.
- Temporal analysis: Day-of-week and hour-of-day distributions are computed from the crash date/time timestamp in each record.
- Demographics: Age and sex distributions are drawn from person-level records linked to each crash event. A single crash may involve multiple persons.
- Vehicle data: Make information is drawn from vehicle unit records linked to each crash event.
- AI commentary: Narrative sections are generated by Google Gemini (large language model) based on the structured data. Commentary is descriptive, not predictive, and should not be interpreted as expert opinion.
Limitations & Disclaimers
- Only crashes reported to and documented by law enforcement are included. Minor incidents, unreported crashes, and near-misses are not captured in this dataset.
- Data reflects conditions at the time of the initial police report and may be subject to subsequent corrections, reclassifications, or supplements by the reporting agency.
- Open data portal records may experience a publication lag - recently occurring crashes may not yet appear in the dataset at the time of report generation.
- AI-generated commentary is produced by a large language model and is intended to highlight patterns in the data. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional analysis.
- Percentages are calculated from reported data and are subject to rounding.
Non-Affiliation Disclosure
This report is produced independently by ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with any law enforcement agency, municipal government, state department of transportation, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data is sourced from publicly available government open data portals.
Data License
The underlying crash data is provided under the municipality's Open Data Terms of Use and is made available to the public for unrestricted use. This analysis and report is © 2026 Injuria.ai and may be cited with attribution using the suggested citation below.
Corrections & Feedback
If you believe any data in this report is inaccurate or have questions about our methodology, please contact: data@injuria.ai. We are committed to accuracy and will issue corrections promptly.
Suggested Citation
ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). "Los Angeles, California Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published August 5, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes), NHTSA FARS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/california/fatal/los-angeles/2023-annual-report
About the Publisher
ThatCarHitMe.com is a crash data intelligence platform developed by Injuria.ai, a legal technology company specializing in traffic safety analytics. We aggregate and analyze publicly available government crash data to produce structured intelligence reports for communities, researchers, journalists, and legal professionals. Our reports combine programmatic data retrieval from official open data portals with AI-assisted narrative analysis.
Questions about this report's data or methodology: data@injuria.ai
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · NHTSA FARS
Period: 2023-01-01 – 2023-12-31
Generated: August 5, 2026 · All rights reserved
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