Fourth of July 2018: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over the Fourth of July 2018, a Wednesday, 140 people died in 121 fatal car accidents on US roads, 61% more than the 87 on the same weekdays around it. It was the sixth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024.
2017 · 2019 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Fourth of July 2018 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 13 deaths, then Texas with 11. In 41 of 51 states and DC at least one person died; a 0 is a real count of none. One year's counts are too small to rank states by; every year together ranks them per resident.
| State | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Pedestrians |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| Texas | 11 | 11 | 2 |
| Michigan | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Colorado | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| Ohio | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Arizona | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Florida | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Illinois | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Missouri | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| New York | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Washington | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Alabama | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Georgia | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Kansas | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Indiana | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Montana | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Oregon | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Idaho | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Iowa | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nevada | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maine | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maryland | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Fourth of July 2018 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on the Fourth of July 2018?
- 140 people died in 121 fatal crashes on US roads over the Fourth of July 2018, a Wednesday, 61% more than the 87 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 21 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on the Fourth of July 2018?
- California, with 13 deaths. In 41 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was the Fourth of July 2018 deadlier than usual?
- 140 road deaths was the sixth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 141. The deadliest was 2021 and the least deadly 2019.
Where the Fourth of July 2018 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from July 4, midnight to midnight in 2018, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, final file. The normal day is the same weekdays in the weeks before and after, averaged (6 of them this year). How the holiday is counted.