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 · PENNSYLVANIA · SEPTEMBER 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.
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
99 CRASHES IN
PENNSYLVANIA
SEPTEMBER 2023
In September 2023, Pennsylvania recorded 99 fatal crashes, a 5.3% increase compared to the 94 fatal crashes in September 2022. This period saw a notable 50% decrease in hit-and-run fatal crashes, falling from 6 to 3. Total fatalities increased by 4.9% from 102 to 107, while total injuries rose by 15.4% from 65 to 75.
99
▲ 5.3%was 94
Total Crash Events
107
▲ 4.9%was 102
Persons Killed
75
▲ 15.4%was 65
Persons Injured
3
▼ -50.0%was 6
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (107) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (99) 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 · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Fatal crashes in Pennsylvania increased by 5.3% year-over-year, from 94 fatal crashes in September 2022 to 99 in September 2023. This upward trend was also reflected in fatalities, which rose by 4.9% (from 102 to 107), and injuries, which increased by 15.4% (from 65 to 75) during the same period.
3
Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2023
▼ -50.0% vs prior (6)
Hit-and-run fatal crashes decreased by 50% year-over-year, from 6 in September 2022 to 3 in September 2023. The rate of hit-and-run fatal crashes also declined from 6.4% to 3% of all fatal crashes.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
19
Pedestrians Killed
3
Cyclists Killed
85
Motorists Killed
0
Pedestrians Injured
0
Cyclists Injured
75
Motorists Injured
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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 Friday in September 2022 (22 fatal crashes) to Saturday in September 2023 (22 fatal crashes). While the peak hour for fatal crashes in September 2023 was 8 PM with 8 fatal crashes, the prior period's peak was 2 PM with 10 fatal crashes, showing a shift in the timing of peak activity.
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Road & Environmental Conditions
Fatal crashes in clear weather decreased from 82 in September 2022 to 75 in September 2023, while those in rainy conditions increased from 7 to 16. Daylight fatal crashes increased from 43 to 51, and fatal crashes during dusk nearly doubled from 3 to 6. There was no change in fatal crashes occurring in dark, unlighted conditions, which remained at 19 for both periods.
Weather
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Lighting condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
Among vehicle makes involved in fatal crashes, Honda saw an increase from 13 to 17, tying with Ford which remained at 17. Harley-Davidson fatal crash involvement increased significantly from 4 to 12. Conversely, Toyota saw a decrease from 14 to 7 involved vehicles.
Top Vehicle Makes (150 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
7 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (248 persons with recorded sex)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Fatal crashes in 35 mph speed zones increased from 15 in September 2022 to 24 in September 2023. Similarly, fatal crashes in 55 mph zones rose from 15 to 23. Fatal crashes in 30 mph zones decreased from 7 to 3, while those in 25 mph and 40 mph zones remained stable at 14 and 13 respectively.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 14 of 14 (100%) · 30 mph: 3 of 3 (100%) · 35 mph: 24 of 24 (100%) · 40 mph: 13 of 13 (100%) · 45 mph: 17 of 17 (100%) · 50 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 55 mph: 23 of 23 (100%) · 65 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 70 mph: 2 of 2 (100%)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Posted speed limit at crash location
Manner of Collision
The dominant manner of fatal collision for both periods was 'The First Harmful Event was Not a Collision with a Motor Vehicle in Transport', increasing from 52 (55.3%) in the prior period to 58 (58.6%) in the current period. Angle fatal collisions slightly decreased from 21 to 20, while front-to-front fatal collisions decreased from 15 to 12.
Manner of Collision
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Vehicle Type
The most common vehicle body type in fatal crashes for both periods was '4-door sedan, hardtop', which remained at 32. Fatal crashes involving 'Two Wheel Motorcycle' increased from 26 to 28, and 'Compact Utility' fatal crashes decreased from 29 to 26. Large trucks (including single-unit straight trucks and truck-tractors) involved in fatal crashes increased from 11 to 13.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 21 reported. 12 additional (23 total) not shown: Minivan (Chrysler Town and Country, Caravan, Grand Caravan, Voyager, Voyager, Honda-Odyssey, ...), Large Van-Includes van-based buses (B150-B350, Sportsman, Royal Maxiwagon, Ram, Tradesman,...), Truck-tractor (Cab only, or with any number of trailing unit; any weight), 2-door sedan,hardtop,coupe, Three-wheel Motorcycle (2 Rear Wheels), Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle, Unknown body type, Convertible(excludes sun-roof,t-bar), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Off-road Motorcycle, Other or Unknown automobile type, Transit Bus (City Bus).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
Fatal crashes on rural trafficways increased by 25.7%, from 35 in September 2022 to 44 in September 2023, making up 44.4% of all fatal crashes in the current period. Conversely, fatal crashes on urban trafficways decreased from 59 to 55. The increased share of rural fatal crashes is notable, as rural roads often carry a disproportionate share of fatalities due to factors like higher speeds and longer EMS response times.
Rural vs Urban
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Roadway Functional Class
Fatal crashes on 'Local' roads saw a significant increase from 13 in September 2022 to 23 in September 2023. 'Minor Arterial' fatal crashes also rose from 18 to 20, while 'Major Collector' fatal crashes decreased from 17 to 9. 'Other Principal Arterial' fatal crashes slightly decreased from 34 to 32.
Roadway Functional Class
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Roadway Ownership
Fatal crashes on roadways owned by the 'State Highway Agency' increased from 61 to 63 year-over-year. Fatal crashes on 'Town or Township Highway Agency' roads doubled from 6 to 12. Conversely, fatal crashes on 'City or Municipal Highway Agency' roads decreased from 11 to 9.
Roadway Ownership
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Person Type
The number of drivers involved in fatal crashes increased from 139 to 150, and passengers increased from 61 to 70. Pedestrians involved in fatal crashes increased from 14 to 19, and bicyclists increased from 2 to 3. These figures highlight an increase across all primary person types involved in fatal crashes.
Person Type
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Person Injury Severity
The number of persons sustaining fatal injuries (K) increased from 102 to 107 year-over-year. Persons with no injuries (O) in fatal crashes increased from 52 to 71. Additionally, those with serious injuries (A) rose from 19 to 24, and minor injuries (B) increased from 23 to 31.
Person Injury Severity
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Occupant Safety Equipment
The number of motor-vehicle occupants using shoulder and lap belts in fatal crashes increased significantly from 77 to 112. The count of occupants using no safety equipment or for whom it was not applicable slightly increased from 72 to 75. These figures indicate a higher rate of belt usage among occupants involved in fatal crashes in the current period.
Occupant Safety Equipment
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Point of Impact
The dominant point of impact, '12 Clock Point' (front), saw a slight increase from 77 to 78. Fatal crashes involving '11 Clock Point' (front-left) and '1 Clock Point' (front-right) impacts both increased by 5, from 11 to 16 and 7 to 12 respectively. 'Non-Collision' impacts decreased from 12 to 6.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 6 smaller categories (18 records): 7 Clock Point (4), 6 Clock Point (4), 3 Clock Point (4), 2 Clock Point (3), 8 Clock Point (2), Reported as Unknown (1).
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
Vehicles Per Crash
Single-vehicle fatal crashes increased from 47 to 52 year-over-year. Two-vehicle fatal crashes remained stable at 39 for both periods. Fatal crashes involving three vehicles increased from 6 to 8, while those involving six vehicles decreased from 2 to 0.
Vehicles Per Crash
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · 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: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30
- Report generated: August 5, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-09-01 through 2023-09-30 (30 days)
- Geographic scope: Pennsylvania
- Total crash records analyzed: 99
- Total persons involved: 253
- Total vehicles involved: 150
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). "Pennsylvania Crash Intelligence Report: September 2023." Published August 5, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30. Data source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes), NHTSA FARS Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/pennsylvania/fatal/statewide/september-2023-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: 2023-09-01 – 2023-09-30
Generated: August 5, 2026 · All rights reserved
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