Fatal Roads

States › South Carolina › Routes › State Route 39

State highwaySR-39

South Carolina · state highway

State Route 39

Fatal crashes 2015–2024 34Deaths 37Counties 16Latest 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.

State Route 39 in South Carolina was the trafficway in 34 fatal crashes between 2015 and 2024, in which 37 people died.

That is 0.4% of the 9,692 fatal crashes in South Carolina over the same years. The ten-year crash count rose 89% from 18 in 2005–2014 to 34 in 2015–2024.

The crashes were concentrated in Aiken County (5), Laurens County (5) and Saluda County (5) and 13 other counties.

50.0% of the crashes had a driver reported as drinking (South Carolina: 32.2%) and 50.0% had a speeding-related driver (40.2%); pedestrians were 5.4% and motorcyclists 13.5% of those killed.

34fatal crashes, 2015–2024+89% vs 2005–2014
37people killed1.1 per fatal crash
50%with a drinking driverSouth Carolina: 32%
50%speeding-relatedSouth Carolina: 40%

Fatal crashes per year

0472000200520102015202020242000: 1–2 crashes2001: 1–2 crashes2002: 1–2 crashes2003: 3 crashes2004: 3 crashes2005: 1–2 crashes2006: 0 crashes2007: 1–2 crashes2008: 0 crashes2009: 3 crashes2010: 1–2 crashes2011: 4 crashes2012: 4 crashes2013: 1–2 crashes2014: 3 crashes2015: 1–2 crashes2016: 5 crashes2017: 3 crashes2018: 1–2 crashes2019: 1–2 crashes2020: 4 crashes2021: 7 crashes2022: 3 crashes2023: 1–2 crashes2024: 4 crashes
Fatal crashes on State Route 39 (SC) by year, 2000–2024. Latest point: 2024, 4 crashes.

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 South Carolina

MeasureState Route 39South Carolina
Fatal crashes, 2015–2024349,692
Deaths, 2015–20243710,473
Deaths per fatal crash1.11.1
Share of state fatal crashes0.4%100%
Change vs previous ten years+89%+15%

Factor shares

Alcoholcrashes with a driver reported as drinking50%
Speedingcrashes with a speeding-related driver50%
Pedestriansshare of people killed5.4%
Motorcyclistsshare of people killed13.5%
Night (6pm–6am)share of crashes55.9%

tick marks the South Carolina share. Bars are shares of fatal crashes (alcohol, speeding, darkness, rural) or of people killed (pedestrians, motorcyclists, unrestrained occupants) over the ten-year window.

Counties along the route

#CountyFatal crashes on SR-39Share of routeCounty total, all roads
1Aiken County515%303
2Laurens County515%210
3Saluda County515%39
4Greenwood County39%116
5Charleston County26%634
6Dillon County26%100
7Dorchester County26%226
8Orangeburg County26%349
9Barnwell County13%41
10Chesterfield County13%115
11Jasper County13%160
12Marion County13%91
13Newberry County13%89
14Richland County13%553
15Union County13%62
16Williamsburg County13%105

Hour of day

12am8.8%
1am2.9%
2am5.9%
3am0%
4am2.9%
5am2.9%
6am2.9%
7am5.9%
8am2.9%
9am2.9%
10am2.9%
11am5.9%
12pm0%
1pm0%
2pm5.9%
3pm2.9%
4pm5.9%
5pm5.9%
6pm5.9%
7pm5.9%
8pm11.8%
9pm0%
10pm8.8%
11pm0%

Share of fatal crashes on State Route 39 beginning in each hour, 2015–2024; tick marks the South Carolina share for all roads.

Where along the route

Mile marker rangeFatal crashesShare
Mile 0–51029%
Mile 5–10926%
Mile 10–15412%
Mile 15–2026%

Five-mile bins by FARS milepoint, the six with the most fatal crashes; 73.5% of crashes on the route have a milepoint. Milepoints are as recorded by the state and can restart at county or district lines.

Other routes in South Carolina

All routes and counties in South Carolina

Questions and answers

How many fatal crashes have there been on State Route 39 in South Carolina?

34 fatal crashes with 37 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 State Route 39 had the most fatal crashes?

Aiken County (5), Laurens County (5), Saluda County (5), Greenwood County (3) and Charleston County (2).

What share of crashes on State Route 39 involved alcohol or speeding?

50.0% had a driver reported as drinking and 50.0% a speeding-related driver, against 32.2% and 40.2% for all fatal crashes in South Carolina.

When do fatal crashes happen on State Route 39?

55.9% 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.