Sullivan County, Tennessee: fatal crash statistics

Counties of Tennessee by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 17 deaths in 16 fatal crashes in Sullivan County in 2024.

FARS records 202 deaths in 189 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.7 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of Tennessee in the same years is 16.8.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Sullivan County was number 9 of 95 counties of Tennessee.

Deaths in Sullivan County fell by 11.8% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (229) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (202).

In the counties of Tennessee the deaths rose by 7.8% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 17.5% of the fatal crashes in Sullivan County with a known setting were rural, against 42.8% in Tennessee.

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 Sullivan 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.Sullivan County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	17	16	3
2023	13	10	1 or 2
2022	26	24	8
2021	28	27	9
2020	22	20	1 or 2
2019	23	21	6
2018	24	23	5
2017	18	18	1 or 2
2016	16	16	3
2015	15	14	3
2015 to 2024	202	189	41

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 42 (2004)2024: 17

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

Table 2.Sullivan County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	17	16
2023	13	10
2022	26	24
2021	28	27
2020	22	20
2019	23	21
2018	24	23
2017	18	18
2016	16	16
2015	15	14
2014	23	21
2013	27	24
2012	28	28
2011	14	14
2010	28	28
2009	14	12
2008	15	15
2007	18	18
2006	27	24
2005	35	34
2004	42	35
2003	25	23
2002	33	29
2001	28	23
2000	25	24
1999	22	20
1998	23	23
1997	35	31
1996	31	30
1995	34	28
1994	26	24
1993	26	24
1992	20	19
1991	32	29
1990	30	29
1989	29	28
1988	27	26
1987	31	26
1986	32	28
1985	30	27
1984	32	31
1983	29	22
1982	22	21
1981	36	27
1980	29	22
1979	33	30
1978	33	30
1977	28	27
1976	30	27
1975	25	24

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.Sullivan County beside Tennessee and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Sullivan County	Tennessee	United States
2024	10.4	16.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.7	16.8	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. Sullivan County had 162,709 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Sullivan County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in Tennessee
A driver recorded as drinkingof 189 fatal crashes	41	189 fatal crashes	21.7%	24.5%
A speeding-related driverof 189 fatal crashes	39	189 fatal crashes	20.6%	16.5%
No restraint usedof 115 occupant deaths with restraint use known	50	115 occupant deathswith restraint use known	43.5%	48.7%
Pedestriansof 202 deaths	28	202 deaths	13.9%	13.0%
Bicyclistsof 202 deaths	3	202 deaths	1.5%	0.8%
Motorcyclistsof 202 deaths	41	202 deaths	20.3%	13.8%
On a rural roadof 189 fatal crashes with the condition reported	33	189 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	17.5%	42.8%
In the darkof 185 fatal crashes with the condition reported	74	185 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	40.0%	46.2%

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.Sullivan 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	5	3	7	10	25
Monday	4	8	8	4	24
Tuesday	3	4	11	11	29
Wednesday	0	5	3	13	21
Thursday	3	6	6	3	18
Friday	1 or 2	6	8	16	32
Saturday	4	5	17	10	36
All days	21	37	60	67	185

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.Sullivan County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in Tennessee
Interstate	37	19.6%	14.4%
Other freeways and expressways	4	2.1%	1.5%
Other principal arterial	58	30.7%	29.3%
Minor arterial	44	23.3%	23.5%
Major collector	12	6.3%	11.9%
Minor collector	8	4.2%	7.7%
Local	26	13.8%	11.7%
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.Sullivan County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	103
Dark, not lighted	45
Dark, lighted	29
Dawn	3
Dusk	5
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	4

Table 8.Sullivan County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	155
Cloudy	12
Rain	17
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	1 or 2
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Sullivan County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Sullivan	In all of Tennessee
Interstate 26	Interstate	10	34
Interstate 81	Interstate	27	61
State Route 36	State highway	14	24
State Route 93	State highway	14	26
US Route 11	US highway	3	112
US Route 11E	US highway	5	95
US Route 11W	US highway	21	84
US Route 19E	US highway	1 or 2	29
US Route 41	US highway	1 or 2	157
US Route 421	US highway	13	24

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 Tennessee

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Sullivan County on the county map of Tennessee

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

Fewer than 102 counties
10 to 14.916 counties
15 to 19.927 counties
20 to 29.940 counties
30 or more10 counties
Sullivan County: 12.7

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 Tennessee

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Sullivan County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Carter County	Tennessee	8	85	15.0
Hawkins County	Tennessee	4	102	17.8
Johnson County	Tennessee	6	42	23.4
Washington County	Tennessee	11	134	10.1
Bristol city	Virginia	0	7	4.1
Scott County	Virginia	1 or 2	43	19.8
Washington County	Virginia	7	86	15.9

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of Tennessee have a population nearest to that of Sullivan 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.
Tennessee Highway Safety OfficeThe highway safety office of Tennessee.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Sullivan County, Tennessee: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/tn/sullivan/. 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 Sullivan in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 229 deaths in Sullivan County from 2005 to 2014. It records 202 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Sullivan in 2024?

The rate of Sullivan County in 2024 was 10.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of Tennessee was 16.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 41 of 189 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 Sullivan?

10 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 110 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.