Berkeley County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics

Counties of West Virginia by year (CSV)Cite this page

FARS records 21 deaths in 19 fatal crashes in Berkeley County in 2024.

FARS records 147 deaths in 136 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 12.0 deaths for each 100,000 residents in a year.

The rate of West Virginia in the same years is 15.2.

By deaths from 2015 to 2024, Berkeley County was number 2 of 55 counties of West Virginia.

Deaths in Berkeley County fell by 13.5% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (170) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (147).

In the counties of West Virginia the deaths fell by 23.1% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, 27.9% of the fatal crashes in Berkeley County with a known setting were rural, against 64.4% in West Virginia.

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 Berkeley 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.Berkeley County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	21	19	9
2023	9	8	1 or 2
2022	11	11	4
2021	20	19	4
2020	19	17	6
2019	15	15	7
2018	16	14	5
2017	10	10	3
2016	16	14	5
2015	10	9	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	147	136	45

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 26 (1990)2024: 21

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

Table 2.Berkeley County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	21	19
2023	9	8
2022	11	11
2021	20	19
2020	19	17
2019	15	15
2018	16	14
2017	10	10
2016	16	14
2015	10	9
2014	12	9
2013	20	18
2012	18	16
2011	18	18
2010	10	9
2009	14	13
2008	21	19
2007	23	21
2006	23	23
2005	11	11
2004	20	19
2003	20	18
2002	23	20
2001	23	22
2000	19	17
1999	22	19
1998	15	14
1997	10	10
1996	21	21
1995	17	15
1994	8	8
1993	13	13
1992	11	10
1991	12	11
1990	26	17
1989	14	14
1988	23	21
1987	15	14
1986	23	16
1985	15	13
1984	21	17
1983	12	12
1982	15	13
1981	8	7
1980	17	16
1979	19	16
1978	4	4
1977	13	12
1976	17	15
1975	12	11

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.Berkeley County beside West Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Berkeley County	West Virginia	United States
2024	15.4	14.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	12.0	15.2	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. Berkeley County had 135,990 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Berkeley County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in West Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 136 fatal crashes	45	136 fatal crashes	33.1%	27.2%
A speeding-related driverof 136 fatal crashes	54	136 fatal crashes	39.7%	26.7%
No restraint usedof 80 occupant deaths with restraint use known	45	80 occupant deathswith restraint use known	56.3%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 147 deaths	17	147 deaths	11.6%	8.7%
Bicyclistsof 147 deaths	1 or 2	147 deaths	0.7%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 147 deaths	24	147 deaths	16.3%	12.4%
On a rural roadof 136 fatal crashes with the condition reported	38	136 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	27.9%	64.4%
In the darkof 136 fatal crashes with the condition reported	69	136 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	50.7%	38.3%

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.Berkeley 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	6	1 or 2	7	5	20
Monday	1 or 2	4	7	4	16
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	3	5	11
Wednesday	1 or 2	3	5	12	22
Thursday	1 or 2	9	6	6	23
Friday	4	3	5	6	18
Saturday	7	4	7	8	26
All days	23	27	40	46	136

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.Berkeley County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in West Virginia
Interstate	28	20.6%	11.9%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.4%
Other principal arterial	19	14.0%	25.0%
Minor arterial	34	25.0%	22.3%
Major collector	14	10.3%	22.8%
Minor collector	16	11.8%	6.1%
Local	25	18.4%	11.5%
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.Berkeley County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	57
Dark, not lighted	60
Dark, lighted	7
Dawn	6
Dusk	4
Dark, lighting unknown	1 or 2
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Berkeley County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	96
Cloudy	16
Rain	20
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	0

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Berkeley County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Berkeley	In all of West Virginia
Interstate 81	Interstate	31	32
State Route 9	State highway	15	32

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 West Virginia

Adjacent counties

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

Figure 3.Berkeley County on the county map of West Virginia

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

Fewer than 105 counties
10 to 14.918 counties
15 to 19.915 counties
20 to 29.916 counties
30 or more1 county
Berkeley County: 12.0

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 West Virginia

Table 10.Counties that share a boundary line with Berkeley County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Washington County	Maryland	14	166	10.9
Frederick County	Virginia	15	128	14.1
Jefferson County	West Virginia	11	79	13.6
Morgan County	West Virginia	1 or 2	23	13.1

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

Counties of similar population

These counties of West Virginia have a population nearest to that of Berkeley 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.
Governors Highway Safety Association: State Highway Safety OfficesThe list of the highway safety offices of the states.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Berkeley County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wv/berkeley/. 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 Berkeley in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 170 deaths in Berkeley County from 2005 to 2014. It records 147 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Berkeley in 2024?

The rate of Berkeley County in 2024 was 15.4 deaths for each 100,000 residents. The rate of West Virginia was 14.5. The rate of the United States was 11.5.

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

FARS records a driver as drinking in 45 of 136 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 Berkeley?

FARS records 31 fatal crashes on Interstate 81 in the county from 2015 to 2024. FARS records 15 fatal crashes on State Route 9 in the county from 2015 to 2024.