Lee County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics

Counties of North Carolina by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 12 deaths in 12 fatal crashes in Lee County in 2024.

FARS records 135 deaths in 127 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 21.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of North Carolina in the same years is 14.5.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Lee County was number 42 of 100 counties of North Carolina.

Deaths in Lee County rose by 1.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (133) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (135).

In the counties of North Carolina the deaths rose by 9.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 70.1% of the fatal crashes in Lee County with a known setting were rural, against 57.2% in North Carolina.

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 Lee 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.Lee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	12	12	4
2023	13	13	0
2022	15	15	1 or 2
2021	14	12	4
2020	11	10	4
2019	9	9	3
2018	13	13	5
2017	19	17	5
2016	8	8	1 or 2
2015	21	18	5
2015 to 2024	135	127	34

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 22 (1992)2024: 12

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

Table 2.Lee County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	12	12
2023	13	13
2022	15	15
2021	14	12
2020	11	10
2019	9	9
2018	13	13
2017	19	17
2016	8	8
2015	21	18
2014	7	7
2013	15	11
2012	4	4
2011	15	14
2010	17	15
2009	4	4
2008	18	16
2007	19	19
2006	19	16
2005	15	14
2004	15	12
2003	17	16
2002	16	12
2001	7	6
2000	14	13
1999	13	11
1998	12	12
1997	17	15
1996	14	13
1995	8	8
1994	8	8
1993	8	7
1992	22	17
1991	7	6
1990	13	10
1989	11	11
1988	13	11
1987	6	6
1986	15	14
1985	17	12
1984	8	8
1983	12	11
1982	7	7
1981	12	11
1980	18	15
1979	9	7
1978	10	10
1977	15	10
1976	15	14
1975	13	12

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.Lee County beside North Carolina and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Lee County	North Carolina	United States
2024	17.4	14.6	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	21.4	14.5	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. Lee County had 68,819 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Lee County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in North Carolina
A driver recorded as drinkingof 127 fatal crashes	34	127 fatal crashes	26.8%	25.3%
A speeding-related driverof 127 fatal crashes	36	127 fatal crashes	28.3%	31.8%
No restraint usedof 100 occupant deaths with restraint use known	44	100 occupant deathswith restraint use known	44.0%	46.8%
Pedestriansof 135 deaths	11	135 deaths	8.1%	14.9%
Bicyclistsof 135 deaths	1 or 2	135 deaths	1.5%	1.7%
Motorcyclistsof 135 deaths	10	135 deaths	7.4%	13.5%
On a rural roadof 127 fatal crashes with the condition reported	89	127 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	70.1%	57.2%
In the darkof 127 fatal crashes with the condition reported	62	127 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	48.8%	46.3%

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.Lee 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	3	3	8	7	21
Monday	0	4	4	5	13
Tuesday	4	5	6	6	21
Wednesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	7	5	15
Thursday	3	3	4	3	13
Friday	4	1 or 2	4	7	17
Saturday	5	4	7	11	27
All days	21	22	40	44	127

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.Lee County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in North Carolina
Interstate	0	0.0%	9.7%
Other freeways and expressways	15	11.8%	4.1%
Other principal arterial	40	31.5%	27.0%
Minor arterial	15	11.8%	16.1%
Major collector	19	15.0%	15.1%
Minor collector	6	4.7%	5.7%
Local	32	25.2%	22.3%
Not reported	0	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.Lee County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	61
Dark, not lighted	55
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	1 or 2
Dusk	1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Lee County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	103
Cloudy	15
Rain	8
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	0
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Lee County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Lee	In all of North Carolina
State Route 42	State highway	7	57
State Route 87	State highway	12	122
US Route 1	US highway	16	120
US Route 15	US highway	6	62
US Route 421	US highway	17	197

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 North Carolina

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Lee County on the county map of North Carolina

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

Fewer than 106 counties
10 to 14.925 counties
15 to 19.934 counties
20 to 29.922 counties
30 or more13 counties
Lee County: 21.4

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 North Carolina

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Lee County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Chatham County	North Carolina	17	141	18.6
Harnett County	North Carolina	35	293	21.6
Moore County	North Carolina	17	183	18.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of North Carolina have a population nearest to that of Lee 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.
North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety ProgramThe highway safety office of North Carolina.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Lee County, North Carolina: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/nc/lee/. 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 Lee in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 133 deaths in Lee County from 2005 to 2014. It records 135 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Lee in 2024?

The rate of Lee County in 2024 was 17.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of North Carolina was 14.6. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 34 of 127 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 Lee?

5 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 58 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.