Sussex County, Delaware: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Delaware by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 35 deaths in 33 fatal crashes in Sussex County in 2024.

FARS records 389 deaths in 366 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 16.2 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Delaware in the same years is 13.0.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Sussex County was number 2 of 3 counties of Delaware.

Deaths in Sussex County fell by 0.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (392) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (389).

In the counties of Delaware the deaths rose by 10.2% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 74.7% of the fatal crashes in Sussex County with a known setting were rural, against 40.5% in Delaware.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Deaths in Sussex County by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this county has a change on record.

Deaths and fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Sussex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	35	33	7
2023	44	40	13
2022	47	42	10
2021	29	29	7
2020	37	32	8
2019	49	47	9
2018	33	33	6
2017	39	37	7
2016	35	34	14
2015	41	39	14
2015 to 2024	389	366	95

Each year from 1975

Figure 2.Deaths in Sussex County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 50 (1987)2024: 35

The columns with a stronger shade are the years 2015 to 2024.

Table 2.Sussex County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	35	33
2023	44	40
2022	47	42
2021	29	29
2020	37	32
2019	49	47
2018	33	33
2017	39	37
2016	35	34
2015	41	39
2014	44	41
2013	36	32
2012	34	33
2011	39	35
2010	31	29
2009	45	36
2008	43	35
2007	39	36
2006	49	40
2005	32	32
2004	49	47
2003	49	47
2002	38	37
2001	42	34
2000	41	37
1999	29	26
1998	31	27
1997	44	36
1996	36	33
1995	41	37
1994	49	46
1993	34	32
1992	39	30
1991	34	31
1990	29	27
1989	30	29
1988	42	37
1987	50	45
1986	38	34
1985	27	26
1984	39	36
1983	22	21
1982	31	30
1981	30	28
1980	40	33
1979	37	33
1978	32	31
1977	30	25
1976	28	26
1975	30	25

Note: a count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2". A death is in FARS when it occurs in 30 days or less after the crash.

Rate for each 100,000 residents

Table 3.Sussex County beside Delaware and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Sussex County	Delaware	United States
2024	12.9	12.0	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	16.2	13.0	11.8

Note: the rate divides the deaths in the county by its residents. Persons who do not live in the county are in the deaths, not in the residents.

Population: Census Bureau estimates, vintage 2025. Sussex County had 271,233 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Sussex County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Delaware
A driver recorded as drinkingof 366 fatal crashes	95	366 fatal crashes	26.0%	25.0%
A speeding-related driverof 366 fatal crashes	111	366 fatal crashes	30.3%	28.8%
No restraint usedof 270 occupant deaths with restraint use known	132	270 occupant deathswith restraint use known	48.9%	47.4%
Pedestriansof 389 deaths	58	389 deaths	14.9%	22.6%
Bicyclistsof 389 deaths	21	389 deaths	5.4%	3.4%
Motorcyclistsof 389 deaths	32	389 deaths	8.2%	13.6%
On a rural roadof 364 fatal crashes with the condition reported	272	364 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	74.7%	40.5%
In the darkof 366 fatal crashes with the condition reported	173	366 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	47.3%	54.0%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure, which uses a blood alcohol concentration of .08 g/dL or higher. One crash can be in two or more rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Sussex County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
Weekday	Midnight to 6 a.m.	6 a.m. to noon	Noon to 6 p.m.	6 p.m. to midnight	All
Sunday	18	6	10	6	40
Monday	3	11	16	19	49
Tuesday	1 or 2	8	12	15	37
Wednesday	4	8	18	14	44
Thursday	4	11	21	14	50
Friday	7	14	16	33	70
Saturday	12	9	19	35	75
All days	50	67	112	136	365

Note: a cell with a stronger shade has a larger count. The table has the fatal crashes with a known hour and weekday.

Table 6.Sussex County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Delaware
Interstate	0	0.0%	7.1%
Other freeways and expressways	3	0.8%	5.1%
Other principal arterial	127	34.9%	32.7%
Minor arterial	24	6.6%	16.8%
Major collector	113	31.0%	21.1%
Minor collector	23	6.3%	5.1%
Local	74	20.3%	12.1%
Not reported	1 or 2	n/a	n/a

Note: the classes are those of the Federal Highway Administration. The shares are of the crashes with a reported class. Road function classes

Light condition and weather

Table 7.Sussex County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	173
Dark, not lighted	153
Dark, lighted	17
Dawn	10
Dusk	10
Dark, lighting unknown	3
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Sussex County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	279
Cloudy	49
Rain	34
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	3
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Sussex County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Sussex	In all of Delaware
State Route 1	State highway	40	100
State Route 4	State highway	1 or 2	29
State Route 9	State highway	1 or 2	24
State Route 24	State highway	22	22
US Route 9	US highway	20	20
US Route 13	US highway	31	159
US Route 113	US highway	38	41

Note: the table has each route with a page that has a fatal crash in the county, in name order. Local streets and county roads have no page. Their crashes are in the county totals. All routes in Delaware

Adjacent counties

These lists are for navigation. They are in name order.

Figure 3.Sussex County on the county map of Delaware

Deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year, 2015 to 2024

Fewer than 100 counties
10 to 14.91 county
15 to 19.92 counties
20 to 29.90 counties
30 or more0 counties
Sussex County: 16.2

The limits of the classes are the same for every state. A county with few residents can show a high rate from few deaths. A class is not a judgement of a county. The full map and the table of counties of Delaware

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Sussex County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Kent County	Delaware	30	275	15.1
Caroline County	Maryland	10	75	22.5
Dorchester County	Maryland	7	49	15.1
Wicomico County	Maryland	17	129	12.4
Worcester County	Maryland	7	110	20.9
Cape May County	New Jersey	9	114	12.1

Source of the list: Census Bureau county adjacency file, 2026 edition.

Counties of similar population

These counties of Delaware have a population nearest to that of Sussex County. The list is for navigation and is in name order. The number is the deaths from 2015 to 2024.

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Delaware Office of Highway SafetyThe highway safety office of Delaware.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Sussex County, Delaware: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/de/sussex/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 1975 to 2024. The factors use the vehicle and person files from 2015. Residents: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, vintage 2025. Map: Census Bureau cartographic boundary file, 2021 edition. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many deaths did FARS record in Sussex in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 392 deaths in Sussex County from 2005 to 2014. It records 389 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Sussex in 2024?

The rate of Sussex County in 2024 was 12.9 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Delaware was 12.0. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

How many fatal crashes in Sussex had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 95 of 366 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. This count is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. NHTSA says that alcohol data is often missing, so the count may be too low.

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on signed routes in Sussex?

7 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 153 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.