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 · ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO · 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/new-mexico/fatal/albuquerque/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
106 CRASHES IN
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
2023
In 2023, there were 106 fatal crashes, an 11.6% increase from 95 fatal crashes in 2022. Total fatalities also rose by 7.9%, from 101 to 109. A notable shift was the 68.8% decrease in fatal crashes involving DUI, from 16 in 2022 to 5 in 2023.
106
▲ 11.6%was 95
Total Crash Events
109
▲ 7.9%was 101
Persons Killed
59
▲ 18.0%was 50
Persons Injured
21
▲ 40.0%was 15
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (109) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (106) 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
Fatal crashes in Albuquerque increased by 11.6% year-over-year, from 95 fatal crashes in 2022 to 106 fatal crashes in 2023. Correspondingly, total fatalities also increased by 7.9%, from 101 fatalities in 2022 to 109 fatalities in 2023, indicating an upward trend in crash severity.
21
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▲ 40.0% vs prior (15)
Fatal hit-and-run crashes increased by 40% year-over-year, from 15 fatal crashes in 2022 to 21 fatal crashes in 2023. The hit-and-run rate also rose from 15.8% of all fatal crashes in 2022 to 19.8% in 2023, indicating an upward trend.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
52
Pedestrians Killed
3
Cyclists Killed
54
Motorists Killed
3
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
56
Motorists 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 temporal distribution of fatal crashes shifted year-over-year. In 2023, Friday was the peak day for fatal crashes with 24, compared to Tuesday with 18 fatal crashes in 2022. The peak hour also shifted from 2 AM with 9 fatal crashes in 2022 to 10 PM with 9 fatal crashes in 2023.
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
Clear weather remained the dominant condition for fatal crashes, accounting for 98 fatal crashes in 2023 and 90 in 2022. Dark - Lighted conditions were most frequent for fatal crashes in both years, with 40 fatal crashes in 2023 and 35 in 2022. The proportion of fatal crashes occurring in adverse weather conditions like rain or snow remained low, with 7 such fatal crashes in 2023 compared to 1 in 2022.
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 vehicle makes involved in fatal crashes saw some shifts, with Chevrolet being most frequent in 2023 (19 vehicles) compared to Ford (19 vehicles) in 2022. The age distribution of persons involved in fatal crashes showed increases in the 0-15 (from 6 to 14) and 35-44 (from 40 to 45) age groups, while the 65+ age group saw a decrease from 34 persons in 2022 to 26 in 2023. The number of males involved in fatal crashes increased from 160 in 2022 to 184 in 2023, and females from 65 to 73.
Top Vehicle Makes (159 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
28 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (257 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
The distribution of fatal crashes across speed zones saw some changes, with 35 mph zones experiencing a decrease from 27 fatal crashes in 2022 to 23 in 2023. Conversely, 65 mph zones saw an increase from 9 fatal crashes in 2022 to 19 in 2023. The 40 mph zone also experienced an increase from 13 fatal crashes in 2022 to 19 in 2023.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 4 of 4 (100%) · 30 mph: 4 of 4 (100%) · 35 mph: 23 of 23 (100%) · 40 mph: 19 of 19 (100%) · 45 mph: 15 of 15 (100%) · 50 mph: 5 of 5 (100%) · 55 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 60 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 65 mph: 19 of 19 (100%) · 75 mph: 10 of 10 (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', increasing from 58 fatal crashes (61.1%) in 2022 to 67 fatal crashes (63.2%) in 2023. Angle collisions decreased from 27 fatal crashes (28.4%) in 2022 to 16 fatal crashes (15.1%) in 2023. Front-to-Rear collisions more than doubled, from 7 fatal crashes (7.4%) in 2022 to 15 fatal crashes (14.2%) in 2023.
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 remained 4-door sedans, with 37 in both 2022 and 2023. Light pickups decreased from 27 in 2022 to 24 in 2023. Notably, two-wheel motorcycles involved in fatal crashes decreased significantly from 21 in 2022 to 12 in 2023, while truck-tractors increased from 6 to 12.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 21 reported. 12 additional (26 total) not shown: Other or Unknown automobile type, 5-door/4-door hatchback, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 19,501 to 26,000 lbs.), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Unknown (pickup style) light conventional truck type, 3-door/2-door hatchback, Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle, Unknown light vehicle type (automobile,utility vehicle, van, or light truck), Moped, Minivan (Chrysler Town and Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager, Voyager, Honda-Odyssey, ...), Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR greater than 26,000 lbs.).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
Fatal crashes predominantly occurred on urban trafficways, accounting for 105 fatal crashes in 2023, an increase from 94 in 2022. Rural trafficways saw 1 fatal crash in 2023, compared to none explicitly recorded as rural in 2022 (excluding 1 'Trafficway Not in State Inventory').
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
In 2023, 'Other Principal Arterial' roadways accounted for the highest number of fatal crashes with 50, a slight decrease from 53 'Principal Arterial - Other' in 2022. Interstate fatal crashes increased from 18 in 2022 to 33 in 2023. Minor Arterial fatal crashes also increased from 7 in 2022 to 10 in 2023.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
City or Municipal Highway Agencies continued to own the roadways with the most fatal crashes, increasing from 50 in 2022 to 54 in 2023. State Highway Agency-owned roadways also saw an increase in fatal crashes, from 40 in 2022 to 46 in 2023. County Highway Agency-owned roadways increased from 4 to 6 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 most common person type involved in fatal crashes, increasing from 148 in 2022 to 157 in 2023. Pedestrians involved in fatal crashes saw a substantial increase from 37 in 2022 to 55 in 2023. Bicyclists involved in fatal crashes increased from 1 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 persons with fatal injuries (K) increased from 101 in 2022 to 109 in 2023. The total number of injured persons (A, B, C, U) also increased from 50 in 2022 to 59 in 2023. Persons with no injuries (O) increased from 88 in 2022 to 106 in 2023.
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 using 'Shoulder and Lap Belt Used' decreased from 82 in 2022 to 75 in 2023. Conversely, persons reported with 'None Used/Not Applicable' safety equipment decreased from 73 in 2022 to 33 in 2023.
Occupant Safety Equipment
"Other" combines 1 smaller categories (1 records): Child Restraint System - Forward Facing (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 '12 Clock Point' remained the most frequent area of impact in fatal crashes, increasing from 73 in 2022 to 91 in 2023. Impacts to the '6 Clock Point' increased from 9 in 2022 to 16 in 2023. The number of 'Non-Collision' impacts decreased from 6 in 2022 to 5 in 2023.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 5 smaller categories (6 records): Right-Back Side (2), Left-Back Side (1), 9 Clock Point (1), Top (1), 7 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
Single-vehicle fatal crashes increased from 52 in 2022 to 63 in 2023. Two-vehicle fatal crashes also increased from 31 in 2022 to 35 in 2023. There was a decrease in 3-vehicle fatal crashes, from 11 in 2022 to 6 in 2023, and a 6-vehicle crash occurred in 2022 but not 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: Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Total crash records analyzed: 106
- Total persons involved: 274
- Total vehicles involved: 159
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). "Albuquerque, New Mexico 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/new-mexico/fatal/albuquerque/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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