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Edition: FARS 2024, annual fileNHTSA released it on Release dates

Fall River County, South Dakota: fatal crash statistics

Counties of South Dakota by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 5 deaths in 4 fatal crashes in Fall River County in 2024.

FARS records 25 deaths in 21 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 35.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of South Dakota in the same years is 14.9.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Fall River County was number 14 of 66 counties of South Dakota.

Deaths in Fall River County rose by 8.7% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (23) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (25).

In the counties of South Dakota the deaths fell by 7.5% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 100.0% of the fatal crashes in Fall River County with a known setting were rural, against 81.7% in South Dakota.

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 .

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

Figure 1.Deaths in Fall River 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.Fall River County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashesCrashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024541 or 2
20231 or 21 or 20
202241 or 21 or 2
20211 or 21 or 20
2020440
2019431 or 2
20181 or 21 or 21 or 2
20171 or 21 or 21 or 2
2016000
20151 or 21 or 21 or 2
2015 to 202425218
Each year from 1975
Figure 2.Deaths in Fall River County by year, 1975 to 2024

Tallest column: 11 (2001)2024: 5

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

Table 2.Fall River County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
YearDeathsFatal crashes
202454
20231 or 21 or 2
202241 or 2
20211 or 21 or 2
202044
201943
20181 or 21 or 2
20171 or 21 or 2
201600
20151 or 21 or 2
20141 or 21 or 2
20131 or 21 or 2
201233
201133
20101 or 21 or 2
200931 or 2
20081 or 21 or 2
20071 or 21 or 2
200633
200531 or 2
200431 or 2
20031 or 21 or 2
20021 or 21 or 2
2001116
200051 or 2
19991 or 21 or 2
199833
19971 or 21 or 2
199633
19951 or 21 or 2
19941 or 21 or 2
199300
199243
19911 or 21 or 2
19901 or 21 or 2
19891 or 21 or 2
198800
198775
198633
19851 or 21 or 2
19841 or 21 or 2
198343
198243
19811 or 21 or 2
198065
197933
19781 or 21 or 2
197755
19761 or 21 or 2
197544

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.Fall River County beside South Dakota and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
PeriodFall River CountySouth DakotaUnited States
202467.415.711.5
2015 to 2024, in a year35.714.911.8

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. Fall River County had 7,413 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Fall River County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
FactorCountCounted amongShareShare in South Dakota
A driver recorded as drinkingof 21 fatal crashes821 fatal crashes34.9%
A speeding-related driverof 21 fatal crashes721 fatal crashes26.6%
No restraint usedof 18 occupant deaths with restraint use known1618 occupant deathswith restraint use known65.8%
Pedestriansof 25 deaths425 deaths7.7%
Bicyclistsof 25 deaths025 deaths0.7%
Motorcyclistsof 25 deaths325 deaths16.9%
On a rural roadof 21 fatal crashes with the condition reported2121 fatal crasheswith the condition reported81.7%
In the darkof 21 fatal crashes with the condition reported1121 fatal crasheswith the condition reported36.4%

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 .

Weekday, time and road class

Table 5.Fall River County: fatal crashes by weekday and time of day, 2015 to 2024
WeekdayMidnight to 6 a.m.6 a.m. to noonNoon to 6 p.m.6 p.m. to midnightAll
Sunday1 or 2031 or 26
Monday001 or 201 or 2
Tuesday0001 or 21 or 2
Wednesday1 or 2001 or 24
Thursday1 or 20001 or 2
Friday01 or 201 or 23
Saturday0031 or 24
All days51 or 27821

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.Fall River County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function classFatal crashesShareShare in South Dakota
Interstate00.0%14.7%
Other freeways and expressways523.8%3.2%
Other principal arterial1152.4%25.5%
Minor arterial00.0%19.3%
Major collector314.3%21.8%
Minor collector1 or 24.8%2.4%
Local1 or 24.8%13.0%
Not reported0n/an/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.Fall River County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light conditionFatal crashes
Daylight9
Dark, not lighted11
Dark, lighted0
Dawn0
Dusk1 or 2
Dark, lighting unknown0
Other or unknown0
Table 8.Fall River County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
WeatherFatal crashes
Clear15
Cloudy3
Rain0
Snow, sleet or freezing rain1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow0
Other or not reported0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Fall River County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
RouteTypeIn Fall RiverIn all of South Dakota
US Route 18US highway1253

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 South Dakota

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Fall River County on the county map of South Dakota

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

  • Fewer than 109 counties
  • 10 to 14.912 counties
  • 15 to 19.910 counties
  • 20 to 29.916 counties
  • 30 or more17 counties
  • Count of 1 or 2, no rate shown2 counties
  • Fall River County: 35.7

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 South Dakota

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Fall River County
CountyStateDeaths, 2024Deaths, 2015 to 2024For each 100,000 residents in a year
Dawes CountyNebraska01113.0
Sioux CountyNebraska1 or 2758.7
Custer CountySouth Dakota1 or 23135.2
Oglala Lakota CountySouth Dakota37553.9
Niobrara CountyWyoming02187.7

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

Counties of similar population

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

Official channels

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Fall River County, South Dakota: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/sd/fall-river/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to .

The address of this page does not change.

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 . 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 Fall River in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 23 deaths in Fall River County from 2005 to 2014. It records 25 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Fall River in 2024?

The rate of Fall River County in 2024 was 67.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of South Dakota was 15.7. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 8 of 21 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 Fall River?

FARS records 12 fatal crashes on US Route 18 in the county from 2015 to 2024.