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 · DETROIT, MICHIGAN · 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/michigan/fatal/detroit/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
124 CRASHES IN
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
2023
In 2023, Detroit experienced 124 fatal crashes, an increase of 6.9% from the 116 fatal crashes recorded in 2022. Total fatalities also rose from 121 to 132, marking a 9.1% increase. The most notable shift was a significant decrease in hit-and-run fatal crashes, which fell by 40.6% from 32 in 2022 to 19 in 2023.
124
▲ 6.9%was 116
Total Crash Events
132
▲ 9.1%was 121
Persons Killed
101
▲ 21.7%was 83
Persons Injured
19
▼ -40.6%was 32
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (132) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (124) 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 in Detroit indicates an increase in fatal crash incidents and associated casualties year-over-year. Fatal crashes rose by 6.9%, from 116 in 2022 to 124 in 2023, while the number of fatalities increased by 9.1%, from 121 to 132. Additionally, total injuries saw a substantial increase of 21.7%, from 83 in 2022 to 101 in 2023.
19
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -40.6% vs prior (32)
Hit-and-run fatal crashes saw a substantial decrease, falling from 32 incidents in 2022 to 19 in 2023. This represents a reduction of 40.6% in the number of hit-and-run fatal crashes. The hit-and-run rate also decreased significantly, from 27.6% in 2022 to 15.3% in 2023.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
36
Pedestrians Killed
3
Cyclists Killed
92
Motorists Killed
1
Other Killed
3
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
98
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 remained Sunday in both periods, though the count decreased from 32 in 2022 to 23 in 2023. The peak hour for fatal crashes shifted from 12 AM (14 crashes) in 2022 to 9 PM (13 crashes) in 2023, indicating a change in the most frequent time of day for these incidents.
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 slightly increased from 95 in 2022 to 98 in 2023, while those in cloudy conditions rose from 9 to 14. There was a notable increase in fatal crashes occurring in 'Dark - Not Lighted' conditions, from 8 in 2022 to 19 in 2023, contrasting with a decrease in 'Dark - Lighted' conditions from 69 to 58. The 'roadSurface' data was not available for either period.
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 top two vehicle makes involved in fatal crashes, Chevrolet and Ford, maintained their positions, with Chevrolet increasing from 26 to 30 and Ford from 23 to 24. Significant shifts were observed in the age distribution of persons involved in fatal crashes, with those aged 26-34 increasing from 52 to 61 and those aged 35-44 increasing from 49 to 58. Conversely, persons aged 21-25 decreased from 43 to 37, and those aged 45-54 decreased from 39 to 30.
Top Vehicle Makes (183 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
17 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (286 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 in 35 mph zones increased significantly from 21 in 2022 to 31 in 2023, and those in 55 mph zones also rose from 15 to 26. Conversely, fatal crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 19 to 12, and in 70 mph zones from 9 to 7. This indicates a shift in fatal crash occurrences towards higher speed limit zones.
Fatal crashes by zone: 5 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 10 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 25 mph: 14 of 14 (100%) · 30 mph: 12 of 12 (100%) · 35 mph: 31 of 31 (100%) · 40 mph: 3 of 3 (100%) · 45 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 55 mph: 26 of 26 (100%) · 70 mph: 7 of 7 (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 for both periods was 'The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport', which increased from 70 fatal crashes in 2022 to 80 in 2023. Angle collisions decreased from 32 to 22, while Front-to-Front collisions saw a notable increase from 3 to 11 fatal crashes.
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 '4-door sedan, hardtop' remained the most common vehicle body type in fatal crashes, increasing from 52 in 2022 to 65 in 2023. 'Compact Utility' vehicles decreased from 29 to 26, while 'Large utility' vehicles increased from 13 to 21. 'Two Wheel Motorcycle' involvement remained relatively stable, increasing slightly from 11 to 12.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 23 reported. 14 additional (20 total) not shown: 5-door/4-door hatchback, Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), 2-door sedan,hardtop,coupe, Large Van-Includes van-based buses (B150-B350, Sportsman, Royal Maxiwagon, Ram, Tradesman,...), Utility station wagon (includes suburban limousines, Suburban, Travellall, Grand Wagoneer), 3-door/2-door hatchback, Off-road Motorcycle, School Bus, Sedan/Hardtop, number of doors unknown, 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.), Transit Bus (City Bus), Unknown light vehicle type (automobile,utility vehicle, van, or light truck), Unknown (pickup style) light conventional truck 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, increasing from 115 in 2022 to 122 in 2023. Rural fatal crashes remained stable at 1 for both periods. This highlights that fatal crashes in this jurisdiction are predominantly an urban phenomenon.
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
Principal Arterial roads continued to account for the highest number of fatal crashes, decreasing slightly from 47 in 2022 to 45 in 2023. Fatal crashes on Interstates increased from 20 to 22, while those on Minor Arterials decreased from 23 to 20. Local roads saw an increase in fatal crashes from 11 to 14.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
Fatal crashes on roadways owned by State Highway Agencies increased from 46 in 2022 to 61 in 2023, making them the leading owner in the current period. Conversely, fatal crashes on City or Municipal Highway Agency roads decreased from 52 to 49. County Highway Agency roads also saw a decrease, from 18 to 13 fatal crashes.
Roadway Ownership
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Person Type
Drivers remained the dominant person type involved in fatal crashes, increasing from 176 in 2022 to 181 in 2023. Passenger involvement also increased from 70 to 76, while pedestrian involvement remained stable at 38-39. Bicyclist involvement saw a significant decrease, falling from 7 in 2022 to 3 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) increased from 121 in 2022 to 132 in 2023. Serious injuries (A) decreased from 29 to 18, while possible injuries (C) saw a substantial rise from 17 to 48. The count of persons with no reported injury (O) decreased from 90 to 68.
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 number of persons reported as using 'Shoulder and Lap Belt' increased slightly from 67 in 2022 to 71 in 2023. However, the number of persons reported with 'None Used/Not Applicable' safety equipment saw a significant increase from 39 to 53. A substantial portion of safety equipment use remained 'Reported as Unknown' for both periods.
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 most frequent point of impact, increasing from 113 instances in 2022 to 119 in 2023. Conversely, impacts at the '9 Clock Point' (left side) decreased significantly from 21 to 7. Impacts at the '6 Clock Point' (rear) also decreased from 13 to 9.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 10 smaller categories (18 records): 11 Clock Point (4), 1 Clock Point (3), 5 Clock Point (2), Top (2), Undercarriage (2), Right-Front Side (1), Right (1), Left-Front Side (1), Cargo/Vehicle Parts Set-In-Motion (1), Right-Back 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 increased from 56 in 2022 to 67 in 2023, while two-vehicle fatal crashes remained stable at 50 for both periods. Crashes involving four or more vehicles decreased from 5 in 2022 to 1 in 2023.
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: Detroit, Michigan
- Total crash records analyzed: 124
- Total persons involved: 301
- Total vehicles involved: 183
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). "Detroit, Michigan 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/michigan/fatal/detroit/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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