Hit-and-Run Traffic Deaths Continue To Increase Annually: Report

More than 900,000 crashes involved drivers who left the scene, making up about 15% of all reported accidents.

A new report shows hit-and-run crashes are making up a larger share of traffic deaths in recent years, even as overall fatalities have slightly declined.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety published the Hit-and-Run Crash report in March 2026, finding that hit-and-run crashes in 2023 accounted for 10% of all crash injuries and 7% of crash deaths, the highest percentage ever recorded.

National traffic data shows that while fatalities have declined slightly from recent peaks, crashes remain widespread across the country. Federal estimates indicate there were more than 40,000 traffic deaths in 2023, down from the surge seen during the pandemic years, but still significantly higher than a decade ago. Millions of crashes are reported each year, highlighting the continued risks facing drivers, passengers and pedestrians on U.S. roads.

At the same time, certain types of fatal crashes have increased disproportionately. Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths have risen over the past decade with research pointing to several contributing factors such as larger vehicle front ends, speeding and distracted driving.

AAA conducted the study to estimate the number of hit-and-run crashes, injuries and deaths in the U.S., and to better understand the circumstances of fatal incidents and the drivers who flee.

Researchers analyzed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data from 1975 through 2023, examining long-term trends in fatal hit-and-run crashes, including differences by road user type, environment and driver behavior.

The data shows that in 2023, more than 900,000 police-reported crashes, about 15% of all reported incidents, involved a driver who fled the scene.

Traffic deaths linked to hit-and-run crashes have increased since 2010, peaking in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reaching a record 2,972 fatalities in 2022, about 7% of all U.S. traffic deaths.

Although the total number of deaths declined slightly in 2023, the overall share remained elevated. About 10% of vehicle occupant injuries occurred in hit-and-run crashes, totaling more than 240,000 injuries. Pedestrians and cyclists were affected at higher rates, accounting for one in four and one in five injuries, respectively.

The data also shows hit-and-run fatalities are more common in large urban areas and decrease in smaller cities and rural regions. More than 70% of those killed were pedestrians or bicyclists, and nearly 80% of fatal hit-and-run crashes occurred at night.

“As hit-and-run crashes and fatalities trend upwards, it is important to prioritize additional research and action to reverse this trend.”

— AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Understanding the Increase in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crashes: Prevalences of Crashes, Injuries, and Deaths in the United States, 2017-2023

Among drivers who fled the scenes of fatal crashes, just under half were eventually caught. The majority were young males who crashed within a short distance of their home zip code. Two in five lacked a valid license, and more than half were driving vehicles they did not personally own.

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