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 · CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA · 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.
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
84 CRASHES IN
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
2023
In 2023, Charlotte experienced 84 fatal crashes, a decrease of 8.7% compared to the 92 fatal crashes recorded in 2022. The total number of fatalities also saw a reduction, with 89 fatalities in 2023 down from 102 in 2022, marking a 12.7% decrease. The most notable year-over-year shift was a significant reduction in the number of persons involved in fatal crashes who were not using safety equipment, decreasing from 79 in 2022 to 49 in 2023.
84
▼ -8.7%was 92
Total Crash Events
89
▼ -12.7%was 102
Persons Killed
66
▼ -13.2%was 76
Persons Injured
8
▼ -20.0%was 10
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (89) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (84) 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 Charlotte decreased by 8.7% year-over-year, from 92 fatal crashes in 2022 to 84 in 2023. Similarly, total fatalities fell by 12.7%, from 102 in 2022 to 89 in 2023, indicating an overall downward trend in fatal crash incidents.
8
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -20.0% vs prior (10)
The number of fatal hit-and-run crashes decreased from 10 in 2022 to 8 in 2023. The hit-and-run rate also saw a slight decrease, falling from 10.9% of fatal crashes in 2022 to 9.5% in 2023.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
23
Pedestrians Killed
1
Cyclists Killed
63
Motorists Killed
2
Other Killed
1
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
65
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 Sunday in 2022 (18 fatal crashes) to Saturday in 2023 (19 fatal crashes). The peak hour also changed, moving from 12 AM in 2022 (11 fatal crashes) to 10 PM in 2023 (9 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
Clear weather remained the dominant condition for fatal crashes in both years, accounting for 66 fatal crashes in 2023 and 71 in 2022. While 'Dark - Lighted' conditions saw a slight decrease from 39 fatal crashes in 2022 to 38 in 2023, 'Daylight' fatal crashes decreased more significantly from 31 to 22. Data for road surface conditions 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
Ford emerged as the top vehicle make involved in fatal crashes in 2023 with 18 incidents, surpassing Nissan/Datsun which led in 2022 with 13 incidents. The age groups 26-34 and 35-44 continued to represent the highest counts of persons involved in fatal crashes, though the 26-34 group saw a decrease from 54 persons in 2022 to 46 in 2023, while the 35-44 group increased from 38 to 45 persons.
Top Vehicle Makes (132 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
4 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (195 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 2023 most frequently occurred in 35 mph zones (29 fatal crashes) and 45 mph zones (17 fatal crashes), a shift from 2022 where 45 mph zones were dominant with 28 fatal crashes. Fatal crashes in 70 mph zones decreased from 14 in 2022 to 10 in 2023, while 35 mph zones saw an increase from 13 to 29 fatal crashes.
Fatal crashes by zone: 15 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 25 mph: 3 of 3 (100%) · 30 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 35 mph: 29 of 29 (100%) · 40 mph: 3 of 3 (100%) · 45 mph: 17 of 17 (100%) · 50 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 55 mph: 9 of 9 (100%) · 60 mph: 3 of 3 (100%) · 65 mph: 4 of 4 (100%) · 70 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 years was 'The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport', accounting for 44 fatal crashes in 2023 and 50 in 2022. Angle collisions increased from 17 fatal crashes in 2022 to 21 in 2023, while Front-to-Rear collisions decreased from 13 to 10.
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 involved in fatal crashes for both periods was the '4-door sedan, hardtop', with 49 incidents in 2023 and 56 in 2022. Two Wheel Motorcycles saw a decrease from 16 incidents in 2022 to 9 in 2023, while Compact Utility vehicles decreased from 21 to 11 incidents.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 22 reported. 13 additional (24 total) not shown: 5-door/4-door hatchback, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 10,001 to 19,500 lbs.), Truck-tractor (Cab only, or with any number of trailing unit; any weight), Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR greater than 26,000 lbs.), Unknown body type, Utility station wagon (includes suburban limousines, Suburban, Travellall, Grand Wagoneer), 3-door/2-door hatchback, Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Motor Scooter, Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 19,501 to 26,000 lbs.), Transit Bus (City Bus), Unenclosed Three Wheel Motorcycle / Unenclosed Autocycle (1 Rear Wheel).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
Roadway Functional Class
In 2023, 'Other Principal Arterial' roads had the highest number of fatal crashes with 26, surpassing 'Interstate' roads which led in 2022 with 33 fatal crashes. The number of fatal crashes on 'Interstate' roads decreased from 33 in 2022 to 19 in 2023, while 'Minor Arterial' roads remained relatively stable with 13 in 2022 and 20 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
State Highway Agencies owned the roadways where the majority of fatal crashes occurred in both periods, with 61 incidents in 2023 and 74 in 2022. City or Municipal Highway Agencies saw a slight decrease in fatal crashes from 15 in 2022 to 14 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 remained the most common person type involved in fatal crashes, with 129 drivers in 2023 compared to 148 in 2022. Pedestrian involvement saw a slight decrease from 25 in 2022 to 24 in 2023, while passengers decreased from 57 to 41.
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 102 in 2022 to 89 in 2023. Total injured persons (A, B, C, U) decreased from 76 in 2022 to 66 in 2023, with 'Serious' injuries (A) increasing slightly from 15 to 17, and 'Minor' injuries (B) decreasing from 26 to 25.
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 Belt Used' increased slightly from 106 persons in 2022 to 112 in 2023. Notably, the number of persons reported with 'None Used/Not Applicable' safety equipment decreased significantly from 79 in 2022 to 49 in 2023.
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' remained the dominant area of impact in fatal crashes for both periods, with 87 incidents in 2023 and 83 in 2022. Impacts at the '6 Clock Point' decreased from 16 in 2022 to 11 in 2023.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 10 smaller categories (12 records): Right-Back Side (2), Non-Collision (2), Top (1), 11 Clock Point (1), 2 Clock Point (1), 5 Clock Point (1), 7 Clock Point (1), 8 Clock Point (1), Right-Front Side (1), 10 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 decreased from 45 in 2022 to 41 in 2023. Two-vehicle fatal crashes also saw a slight decrease from 37 in 2022 to 35 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: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Total crash records analyzed: 84
- Total persons involved: 197
- Total vehicles involved: 132
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). "Charlotte, North Carolina 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/north-carolina/fatal/charlotte/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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