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 · WEST VIRGINIA · 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
26 CRASHES IN
WEST VIRGINIA
SEPTEMBER 2023
In September 2023, there were 26 fatal crashes, a significant increase of 85.7% compared to the 14 fatal crashes recorded in September 2022. Total fatalities also rose from 15 to 26, marking a 73.3% increase year-over-year. The most notable shift was the more than doubling of total injuries, from 17 to 38, representing a 123.5% increase.
26
▲ 85.7%was 14
Total Crash Events
26
▲ 73.3%was 15
Persons Killed
38
▲ 123.5%was 17
Persons Injured
26
▲ 85.7%was 14
Fatal Crash Events
Note: "Persons Killed" (26) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (26) 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 crash incidents and associated fatalities show a significant upward trend year-over-year. The number of fatal crashes increased by 85.7%, from 14 in the prior period to 26 in the current period. Total fatalities also rose substantially by 73.3%, from 15 to 26.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
3
Pedestrians Killed
23
Motorists Killed
0
Pedestrians Injured
38
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 Saturday (3 fatal crashes) in the prior period to Wednesday (6 fatal crashes) in the current period. The peak hour for fatal crashes also moved slightly, from 6 PM (3 fatal crashes) in the prior period to 7 PM (4 fatal crashes) in the current period, indicating a change in temporal patterns.
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 increased from 12 in the prior period to 18 in the current period, maintaining its dominance. Crashes in rainy conditions increased from 1 to 3, and cloudy conditions, not reported in the prior period, accounted for 4 fatal crashes in the current period. Fatal crashes in daylight increased from 10 to 15, and those in unlit dark conditions rose from 2 to 9.
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
Top Vehicle Makes (45 vehicles)
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
1 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (72 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 55 mph zones increased from 6 in the prior period to 8 in the current period. Crashes in 45 mph zones also saw a notable increase from 1 to 6, and 40 mph zones increased from 1 to 4. This indicates a shift with higher speed limit zones, 40 mph and above, accounting for 22 fatal crashes in the current period, up from 11 in the prior period.
Fatal crashes by zone: 15 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 30 mph: 1 of 1 (100%) · 35 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 40 mph: 4 of 4 (100%) · 45 mph: 6 of 6 (100%) · 55 mph: 8 of 8 (100%) · 60 mph: 2 of 2 (100%) · 65 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
Fatal crashes where the first harmful event was not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport remained the dominant pattern, increasing from 8 (57.1%) in the prior period to 13 (50%) in the current period. Angle collisions increased from 2 (14.3%) to 5 (19.2%) fatal crashes, and front-to-front collisions also rose from 2 (14.3%) to 5 (19.2%) fatal crashes.
Manner of Collision
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Vehicle Type
4-door sedans were involved in 13 fatal crashes in the current period, a significant increase from 2 in the prior period. Two-wheel motorcycles also saw a notable rise from 1 to 6 fatal crashes, representing an increased share in this high-fatality category. Compact utility vehicles increased from 5 to 7 fatal crashes, while light pickups remained stable at 5 fatal crashes.
Vehicle Type
Showing top 9 of 12 reported. 3 additional (3 total) not shown: Single-unit straight truck or Cab-Chassis (GVWR range 10,001 to 19,500 lbs.), Medium/heavy Pickup (GVWR greater than 10,000 lbs.), Large utility (ANSI D16.1 Utility Vehicle Categories and "Full Size" and "Large").
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Vehicle unit records
Rural vs Urban
In the current period, rural areas accounted for 14 fatal crashes, a slight increase from 13 in the prior period. Urban areas experienced a substantial increase in fatal crashes, rising from 1 in the prior period to 12 in the current period. Despite the rise in urban incidents, rural areas continue to represent a significant portion of fatal crashes.
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 Other Principal Arterials more than doubled, increasing from 5 in the prior period to 11 in the current period. Minor Arterials also saw a significant rise from 1 to 7 fatal crashes, while Major Collectors remained stable with 5 fatal crashes in both periods. Interstate fatal crashes, not present in the prior period, accounted for 1 fatal crash in the current period.
Roadway Functional Class
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 significantly increased from 21 in the prior period to 45 in the current period, making them the dominant person type. Pedestrians involved in fatal crashes tripled from 1 to 3, while the number of passengers involved remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 25 to 24.
Person Type
Source: NHTSA FARS (Fatal Crashes) · Federal fatal-crash census · 2023-09-01 to 2023-09-30 · Crash-level records
Person Injury Severity
Fatalities (K) increased from 15 in the prior period to 26 in the current period. Serious injuries (A) rose from 3 to 4, and minor injuries (B) saw a substantial increase from 2 to 19. Overall, the total number of injured persons (A, B, C) increased from 17 to 38 year-over-year.
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 persons using shoulder and lap belts in fatal crashes increased from 23 in the prior period to 40 in the current period. Concurrently, the number of persons for whom no safety equipment was used or applicable also increased from 14 to 23. This indicates a rise in both restrained and unrestrained individuals involved in fatal crashes.
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 '12 Clock Point' remained the most frequent point of impact, increasing from 11 occurrences in the prior period to 25 in the current period. The '6 Clock Point' also saw an increase from 2 to 3 impacts. The current period also recorded 2 non-collision impacts, a category not present in the prior period's data.
Point of Impact
"Other" combines 6 smaller categories (6 records): 11 Clock Point (1), 3 Clock Point (1), 8 Clock Point (1), Left (1), Left-Front Side (1), Right-Back Side (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 8 in the prior period to 11 in the current period. Two-vehicle fatal crashes significantly increased from 4 to 12. Additionally, the current period recorded 1 fatal crash involving 4 vehicles, a category not present in the prior period's data.
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: West Virginia
- Total crash records analyzed: 26
- Total persons involved: 72
- Total vehicles involved: 45
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). "West Virginia 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/west-virginia/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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