Memorial Day 2020: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Memorial Day weekend 2020, Saturday to Monday (May 23 to 25), 365 people died in 330 fatal car accidents on US roads, 5% more than the 346 on the same weekdays around it. It was the ninth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Memorial Day (the Monday) alone: 103 deaths, against 93 on a normal day.
2019 · 2021 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Memorial Day 2020 road deaths in every state
Texas had the most, 45 deaths, then California with 31. In 44 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 45 | 35 | 2 |
| California | 31 | 28 | 4 |
| Florida | 29 | 28 | 5 |
| Indiana | 18 | 16 | 5 |
| Ohio | 17 | 17 | 2 |
| Illinois | 16 | 16 | 7 |
| Georgia | 16 | 13 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | 12 | 0 |
| Arizona | 11 | 11 | 3 |
| Michigan | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 11 | 10 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 11 | 8 | 0 |
| Missouri | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Virginia | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Alabama | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Colorado | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| Maryland | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Iowa | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| New York | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Oregon | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Washington | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Montana | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Nevada | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kansas | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 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 Memorial Day 2020 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Memorial Day 2020?
- 365 people died in 330 fatal crashes on US roads over Memorial Day weekend 2020, Saturday to Monday (May 23 to 25), 5% more than the 346 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 43 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Memorial Day 2020?
- Texas, with 45 deaths. In 44 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Memorial Day 2020 deadlier than usual?
- 365 road deaths was the ninth most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 397. The deadliest was 2022 and the least deadly 2017.
Where the Memorial Day 2020 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Saturday to Monday of Memorial Day weekend in 2020, 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.