States › Mississippi › Routes › US Route 61
US Route 61
Fatal crashes 2015–2024 169Deaths 196Counties 12Latest data year 2024
FARS data are based on police crash reports and other sources; the drunk-driving measure is based on the highest BAC of any driver in the crash. Latest data year: 2024. The route is the trafficway recorded for each crash (FARS TWAY_ID); the same route number in another state has its own page.
US Route 61 in Mississippi was the trafficway in 169 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 196 people died.
That is 2.6% of the 6,385 fatal crashes in Mississippi over the same years. The ten-year crash count rose 26% from 134 in 2005–2014 to 169 in 2015–2024.
The crashes were concentrated in Bolivar County (27), Tunica County (26) and Washington County (18) and 9 other counties.
18.9% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (Mississippi: 18.5%) and 11.8% had a speeding-related driver (14.8%); pedestrians were 15.8% and motorcyclists 4.6% of those killed.
Fatal crashes per year
Route identification in FARS is consistent from 2000; earlier years are not shown. Shaded band: the ten-year window used for the shares below.
Compared with all fatal crashes in Mississippi
| Measure | US Route 61 | Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| Fatal crashes, 2015–2024 | 169 | 6,385 |
| Deaths, 2015–2024 | 196 | 7,057 |
| Deaths per fatal crash | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Share of state fatal crashes | 2.6% | 100% |
| Change vs previous ten years | +26% | -3% |
Factor shares
Counties along the route
| # | County | Fatal crashes on US-61 | Share of route | County total, all roads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bolivar County | 27 | 16% | 68 |
| 2 | Tunica County | 26 | 15% | 47 |
| 3 | Washington County | 18 | 11% | 130 |
| 4 | Warren County | 17 | 10% | 91 |
| 5 | Coahoma County | 13 | 8% | 50 |
| 6 | Adams County | 12 | 7% | 41 |
| 7 | DeSoto County | 12 | 7% | 205 |
| 8 | Wilkinson County | 12 | 7% | 31 |
| 9 | Jefferson County | 10 | 6% | 27 |
| 10 | Claiborne County | 9 | 5% | 35 |
| 11 | Sharkey County | 8 | 5% | 12 |
| 12 | Issaquena County | 5 | 3% | 7 |
Hour of day
Share of fatal crashes on US Route 61 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the Mississippi share for all roads.
Other routes in Mississippi
- Interstate 55 299
- US Route 49 276
- Interstate 20 150
- US Route 45 143
- US Route 82 137
- Interstate 59 122
- Interstate 10 108
- US Route 98 107
- State Route 15 101
- US Route 90 95
- US Route 84 81
- US Route 51 81
All routes and counties in Mississippi
Questions and answers
How many fatal crashes have there been on US Route 61 in Mississippi?
169 fatal crashes with 196 deaths over 2015–2024, per NHTSA's FARS. The route is the trafficway recorded for the crash; the same numbered route in another state has its own page.
Which counties along US Route 61 had the most fatal crashes?
Bolivar County (27), Tunica County (26), Washington County (18), Warren County (17) and Coahoma County (13).
What share of crashes on US Route 61 involved alcohol or speeding?
18.9% had a driver reported as drinking and 11.8% a speeding-related driver, against 18.5% and 14.8% for all fatal crashes in Mississippi.
When do fatal crashes happen on US Route 61?
49.7% of the crashes were between 6pm and 6am. The hour chart on this page shows the full distribution.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, annual national CSV files 2000–2024 (accident, vehicle and person tables), public domain. Route pages are built for signed Interstate, US and state routes with at least 20 fatal crashes in 2015–2024. Data through 31 Dec 2024; generated 30 Sep 2026. See methodology and corrections.