Interstate 5 fatal crashes in Washington

FARS records 390 fatal crashes with 425 deaths on Interstate 5 in Washington from 2015 to 2024.

In 2024 it records 43 fatal crashes with 45 deaths on the route.

By fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024, Interstate 5 was number 1 of the 29 routes of Washington with a page.

Fatal crashes on Interstate 5 rose by 63.9% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (238) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (390).

In Washington they rose by 23.3% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, a speeding-related driver was recorded in 35.6% of fatal crashes on Interstate 5 and 31.1% in Washington.

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.Fatal crashes on Interstate 5 in Washington by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this route has a change on record.

Fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Interstate 5 in Washington: fatal crashes and deaths by year, 2000 to 2024
Year	Fatal crashes	Deaths
2024	43	45
2023	35	45
2022	46	49
2021	49	56
2020	31	32
2019	34	35
2018	37	42
2017	50	52
2016	32	35
2015	33	34
2014	25	26
2013	20	20
2012	21	22
2011	29	30
2010	19	21
2009	21	22
2008	23	26
2007	22	22
2006	30	33
2005	28	33
2004	29	32
2003	33	38
2002	27	32
2001	43	46
2000	34	35

Note: the route is the trafficway that FARS records for the crash. The records of routes start in 2000. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2".

Counties on the route

Table 2.Interstate 5: fatal crashes on the route in each county, 2015 to 2024, in name order
County	On the route	On all roads of the county
Clark County	28	300
Cowlitz County	27	112
King County	117	1,182
Lewis County	15	105
Pierce County	69	733
Skagit County	18	144
Snohomish County	52	443
Thurston County	37	207
Whatcom County	27	141

Note: the table has the counties where FARS records a fatal crash on the route in these years.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 3.Interstate 5 in Washington: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share on all roads of Washington
A driver recorded as drinkingof 390 fatal crashes	121	390 fatal crashes	31.0%	31.1%
A speeding-related driverof 390 fatal crashes	139	390 fatal crashes	35.6%	31.1%
Pedestriansof 425 deaths	93	425 deaths	21.9%	18.4%
Motorcyclistsof 425 deaths	61	425 deaths	14.4%	15.7%

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. One crash can be in two 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.

Time of day

Table 4.Interstate 5 in Washington: fatal crashes by time of day, 2015 to 2024
Time of day	Fatal crashes	Share	Share on all roads of Washington
Midnight to 6 a.m.	128	32.8%	19.9%
6 a.m. to noon	61	15.6%	17.7%
Noon to 6 p.m.	89	22.8%	29.9%
6 p.m. to midnight	112	28.7%	32.5%

Note: the table has the fatal crashes with a known hour.

Mile ranges

Table 5.Interstate 5 in Washington: fatal crashes by range of five miles, 2015 to 2024
Milepoint	Fatal crashes
Mile 0 to 5	68
Mile 120 to 125	15
Mile 125 to 130	15
Mile 140 to 145	15
Mile 145 to 150	17
Mile 165 to 170	18

Note: the table has the six ranges of five miles with the largest counts, in the order of the milepoint. 98.2 percent of the fatal crashes on the route have a milepoint in FARS. A state can start its milepoints again at a county line.

Routes in the same counties

These routes of Washington have a fatal crash on record in one or more of the same counties. The list is for navigation. The number is the fatal crashes on the route from 2015 to 2024.

All routes in Washington

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.
Washington Traffic Safety CommissionThe highway safety office of Washington.

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

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Interstate 5 fatal crashes in Washington. https://fatalroads.com/route/wa/i-5/. 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 2000 to 2024. A route page is built for a signed Interstate, US or state route with 20 or more fatal crashes in a state in ten years. 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 fatal crashes did FARS record on Interstate 5 in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 238 fatal crashes on Interstate 5 in Washington from 2005 to 2014. It records 390 from 2015 to 2024.

What part of the fatal crashes in Washington was on Interstate 5?

390 of the 5,793 fatal crashes in Washington from 2015 to 2024 were on Interstate 5. That is 6.7 percent.

How many fatal crashes on Interstate 5 had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 121 of 390 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. It records a speeding-related driver in 139 of them.

Does this page count the same route number in a different state?

No. This page counts the fatal crashes that FARS records on Interstate 5 in Washington only. The route in a different state has its own page.