Wood County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics

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

FARS records 14 deaths in 14 fatal crashes in Wood County in 2024.

FARS records 100 deaths in 98 fatal crashes in the county from 2015 to 2024.

From 2015 to 2024 the rate is 11.9 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, Wood County was number 7 of 55 counties of West Virginia.

Deaths in Wood County fell by 13.0% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (115) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (100).

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

From 2015 to 2024, 41.8% of the fatal crashes in Wood 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 Wood 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.Wood County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 2015 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes	Crashes with a driver recorded as drinking
2024	14	14	4
2023	9	9	3
2022	8	8	1 or 2
2021	14	14	6
2020	16	14	3
2019	6	6	1 or 2
2018	7	7	0
2017	10	10	3
2016	8	8	3
2015	8	8	1 or 2
2015 to 2024	100	98	28

Each year from 1975

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

Tallest column: 21 (1975)2024: 14

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

Table 2.Wood County: deaths and fatal crashes by year, 1975 to 2024
Year	Deaths	Fatal crashes
2024	14	14
2023	9	9
2022	8	8
2021	14	14
2020	16	14
2019	6	6
2018	7	7
2017	10	10
2016	8	8
2015	8	8
2014	15	13
2013	9	9
2012	8	8
2011	18	15
2010	13	10
2009	4	4
2008	6	6
2007	8	7
2006	17	15
2005	17	15
2004	7	7
2003	12	10
2002	13	12
2001	12	12
2000	15	14
1999	11	10
1998	9	9
1997	6	5
1996	14	13
1995	10	9
1994	14	12
1993	14	11
1992	16	15
1991	14	14
1990	17	12
1989	11	10
1988	13	12
1987	20	17
1986	14	14
1985	12	12
1984	21	20
1983	17	16
1982	11	11
1981	16	16
1980	15	13
1979	9	8
1978	14	11
1977	11	10
1976	14	14
1975	21	19

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.Wood County beside West Virginia and the United States: deaths for each 100,000 residents
Period	Wood County	West Virginia	United States
2024	16.9	14.5	11.5
2015 to 2024, in a year	11.9	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. Wood County had 82,650 residents in 2024.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 4.Wood County: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share in West Virginia
A driver recorded as drinkingof 98 fatal crashes	28	98 fatal crashes	28.6%	27.2%
A speeding-related driverof 98 fatal crashes	30	98 fatal crashes	30.6%	26.7%
No restraint usedof 69 occupant deaths with restraint use known	36	69 occupant deathswith restraint use known	52.2%	53.2%
Pedestriansof 100 deaths	11	100 deaths	11.0%	8.7%
Bicyclistsof 100 deaths	1 or 2	100 deaths	1.0%	1.0%
Motorcyclistsof 100 deaths	16	100 deaths	16.0%	12.4%
On a rural roadof 98 fatal crashes with the condition reported	41	98 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.8%	64.4%
In the darkof 98 fatal crashes with the condition reported	41	98 fatal crasheswith the condition reported	41.8%	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.Wood 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	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	1 or 2	8
Monday	0	1 or 2	4	4	10
Tuesday	1 or 2	1 or 2	6	1 or 2	11
Wednesday	4	6	9	1 or 2	21
Thursday	1 or 2	4	4	3	12
Friday	1 or 2	3	7	6	18
Saturday	8	1 or 2	5	4	18
All days	18	20	37	23	98

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.Wood County: fatal crashes by road function class, 2015 to 2024
Road function class	Fatal crashes	Share	Share in West Virginia
Interstate	12	12.2%	11.9%
Other freeways and expressways	0	0.0%	0.4%
Other principal arterial	31	31.6%	25.0%
Minor arterial	16	16.3%	22.3%
Major collector	22	22.4%	22.8%
Minor collector	7	7.1%	6.1%
Local	10	10.2%	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.Wood County: fatal crashes by light condition, 2015 to 2024
Light condition	Fatal crashes
Daylight	57
Dark, not lighted	33
Dark, lighted	8
Dawn	0
Dusk	0
Dark, lighting unknown	0
Other or unknown	0

Table 8.Wood County: fatal crashes by weather, 2015 to 2024
Weather	Fatal crashes
Clear	66
Cloudy	20
Rain	10
Snow, sleet or freezing rain	1 or 2
Fog, smog or smoke	0
Crosswinds or blowing sand/snow	0
Other or not reported	1 or 2

Routes in the county

Table 9.Signed routes in Wood County that have a page: fatal crashes, 2015 to 2024
Route	Type	In Wood	In all of West Virginia
Interstate 77	Interstate	13	94
State Route 2	State highway	6	77
State Route 14	State highway	18	20
US Route 50	US highway	13	87

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.Wood 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
Wood County: 11.9

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 Wood County
County	State	Deaths, 2024	Deaths, 2015 to 2024	For each 100,000 residents in a year
Athens County	Ohio	5	78	12.2
Meigs County	Ohio	4	51	22.7
Washington County	Ohio	5	71	11.9
Jackson County	West Virginia	1 or 2	60	21.2
Pleasants County	West Virginia	0	8	10.7
Ritchie County	West Virginia	4	21	23.2
Wirt County	West Virginia	0	8	14.8

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 Wood 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. Wood County, West Virginia: fatal crash statistics. https://fatalroads.com/county/wv/wood/. 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 Wood in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 115 deaths in Wood County from 2005 to 2014. It records 100 deaths from 2015 to 2024.

What was the rate of Wood in 2024?

The rate of Wood County in 2024 was 16.9 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 Wood had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 28 of 98 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 Wood?

4 signed routes in the county have a page. FARS records 50 fatal crashes on them in the county from 2015 to 2024. The table of routes on this page gives the count for each route.