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 · CONNECTICUT · 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/connecticut/fatal/statewide/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
289 CRASHES IN
CONNECTICUT
2023
In 2023, there were 289 fatal crashes, resulting in 308 fatalities. This represents a decrease of 12.95% in fatal crashes and a 15.85% decrease in fatalities compared to 2022, which saw 332 fatal crashes and 366 fatalities. The most notable shift was a 33.33% reduction in pedestrians killed, decreasing from 72 in 2022 to 48 in 2023.
289
▼ -13.0%was 332
Total Crash Events
308
▼ -15.8%was 366
Persons Killed
184
▼ -21.4%was 234
Persons Injured
23
▼ -28.1%was 32
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (308) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (289) 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 for fatal crashes and fatalities in 2023 is downward. Fatal crashes decreased by 43 events (12.95%) from 332 in 2022 to 289 in 2023, while total fatalities decreased by 58 (15.85%) from 366 to 308 over the same period.
23
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -28.1% vs prior (32)
Hit-and-run fatal crashes decreased from 32 in 2022 to 23 in 2023. The hit-and-run rate also saw a decrease, falling from 9.6% in 2022 to 8% in 2023, indicating a downward trend.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
48
Pedestrians Killed
4
Cyclists Killed
254
Motorists Killed
2
Other Killed
2
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
182
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 slightly, with both Saturday and Sunday recording 48 fatal crashes in 2023, while Saturday was the sole peak in 2022 with 65 fatal crashes. The peak hour for fatal crashes moved from 11 PM in 2022 (25 fatal crashes) to 8 PM in 2023 (26 fatal crashes).
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 281 in 2022 to 235 in 2023. Crashes during dusk increased from 7 in 2022 to 14 in 2023, while crashes during daylight decreased from 146 to 120. There was a notable increase in fatal crashes during fog, smog, or smoke conditions, rising from 2 in 2022 to 6 in 2023.
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
The total number of vehicles involved in fatal crashes decreased from 516 in 2022 to 441 in 2023. Honda remained the top make involved, though its count decreased from 66 to 53, while Jeep involvement increased from 20 to 25.
Top Vehicle Makes (441 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
14 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (648 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 a 25 mph speed limit decreased from 73 in 2022 to 65 in 2023. Similarly, crashes at 65 mph decreased from 44 to 34, and at 45 mph from 36 to 27. Conversely, fatal crashes at a 55 mph speed limit increased from 25 in 2022 to 28 in 2023.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 65 of 65 (100%) · 30 mph: 33 of 33 (100%) · 35 mph: 39 of 39 (100%) · 40 mph: 42 of 42 (100%) · 45 mph: 27 of 27 (100%) · 50 mph: 16 of 16 (100%) · 55 mph: 28 of 28 (100%) · 65 mph: 34 of 34 (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 most common manner of collision in both periods was 'The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport', accounting for 169 fatal crashes in 2023 (58.5%) and 200 in 2022 (60.2%). Front-to-rear collisions increased from 20 in 2022 to 28 in 2023, while angle collisions decreased from 55 to 44.
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 dominant vehicle body type in fatal crashes for both years was 4-door sedans, with 128 in 2023 and 156 in 2022. Two-wheel motorcycles were involved in 50 fatal crashes in 2023, down from 59 in 2022, while light pickups increased from 33 to 38.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 31 reported. 22 additional (61 total) not shown: Minivan (Chrysler Town and Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager, Voyager, Honda-Odyssey, ...), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR greater than 26,000 lbs.), 3-door/2-door hatchback, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 10,001 to 19,500 lbs.), Motor Scooter, Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Unknown body type, Off-road Motorcycle, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 19,501 to 26,000 lbs.), Moped, Unknown motored cycle type, Auto-based pickup (includes E1 Camino, Caballero, Ranchero, SSR, G8-ST, Subaru Brat, Rabbit Pickup), Farm equipment other than trucks, Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Other or Unknown automobile type, Other vehicle type (includes go-cart, fork-lift, city street sweeper dunes/swamp buggy), Sedan/Hardtop, number of doors unknown, Step van (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Three-wheel Motorcycle (2 Rear Wheels), Transit Bus (City Bus), Unenclosed Three Wheel Motorcycle / Unenclosed Autocycle (1 Rear Wheel), Unknown medium/heavy truck type.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
In 2023, 250 fatal crashes occurred in urban areas and 38 in rural areas, compared to 293 urban and 35 rural fatal crashes in 2022. While the majority of fatal crashes remain in urban settings, rural fatal crashes increased by 3 events year-over-year.
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
Minor Arterial roadways consistently had the highest number of fatal crashes, increasing from 95 in 2022 to 112 in 2023. Interstate fatal crashes decreased from 61 to 49, and Major Collector fatal crashes decreased from 28 to 16.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
State Highway Agencies owned the roadways for the majority of fatal crashes in both periods, with 212 in 2023 and 240 in 2022. Fatal crashes on Town or Township Highway Agency roads decreased from 88 in 2022 to 76 in 2023.
Roadway Ownership
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Type
Drivers were the most common person type involved in fatal crashes, with 435 in 2023, a decrease from 513 in 2022. Pedestrian involvement in fatal crashes significantly decreased from 78 in 2022 to 50 in 2023.
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 fatal injuries (K) decreased from 366 in 2022 to 308 in 2023. Total injured persons (A, B, C) also saw a decrease from 232 in 2022 to 184 in 2023, with serious injuries (A) decreasing from 68 to 49.
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 use of shoulder and lap belts in fatal crashes decreased from 302 persons in 2022 to 260 persons in 2023. Concurrently, the number of persons reported with no safety equipment used decreased from 206 to 166.
Occupant Safety Equipment
"Other" combines 1 smaller categories (1 records): Shoulder Belt Only Used (1).
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 dominant point of impact in fatal crashes was the '12 Clock Point' (front), with 236 occurrences in 2023, down from 272 in 2022. Rear impacts ('6 Clock Point') increased from 28 in 2022 to 34 in 2023.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 13 smaller categories (60 records): 3 Clock Point (12), Reported as Unknown (12), 10 Clock Point (9), 7 Clock Point (7), 8 Clock Point (5), Undercarriage (3), 5 Clock Point (3), 4 Clock Point (3), Top (2), Left (1), Right (1), Left-Front Side (1), Right-Front Side (1).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Vehicles Per Crash
Single-vehicle fatal crashes decreased from 181 in 2022 to 154 in 2023. Fatal crashes involving two vehicles also decreased, from 119 to 114, while crashes involving four or more vehicles decreased from 9 to 3.
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: Connecticut
- Total crash records analyzed: 289
- Total persons involved: 655
- Total vehicles involved: 441
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). "Connecticut 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/connecticut/fatal/statewide/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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