Phoenix Crash Death Records Miss Key Facts Nearly 6x the US Rate

The Finding

Every fatal crash on a US public road goes into the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, a federal census run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Each state fills it in from police crash reports.

Four of the fields describe the scene itself:

• the light at the time of the crash
• where on the road it happened, such as the travel lanes, the shoulder, or the median
• whether it happened at an intersection, a driveway, a ramp, or other junction
• how the vehicles hit, such as rear-end, head-on, or angle

In most of the country, these are almost always filled in. From 2013 to 2024, outside Arizona, at least one of them was recorded as unknown or not reported in 0.76% of fatal crashes.

In Arizona it was 7.8%. That’s 889 of 11,458 fatal crashes, about 10 times the rate everywhere else.

Phoenix

The city of Phoenix had 2,739 fatal crashes from 2013 to 2024. In 121 of them, at least one of the four scene facts was recorded as unknown. That’s 4.4%, nearly 6 times the national rate. Those crashes killed 126 people.

Across Maricopa County the rate was 5.0%, about 6.5 times the national rate. Outside Maricopa County, Arizona’s rate climbed to 10.6%.

In 11 Phoenix crashes and 47 Maricopa County crashes, the record lists all four as unknown.

Source: NHTSA FARS 2013-2024 national accident files. Computed by AZ Law Now.

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Arizona Holds Most of the Nation’s Blanks

Arizona accounts for 2.7% of the country’s fatal crashes. It accounts for a far bigger share of the records with scene facts unknown:

Over the 12 years combined, Arizona had the highest rate of any state. Year by year, it ranked first or second in every year but 2020, when it tied for second.

Not a One-Year Glitch

The rate barely moves. Arizona recorded at least one scene fact as unknown in 7.8% of fatal crashes from 2013 to 2016, 7.7% from 2017 to 2020, and 7.8% from 2021 to 2024.

Outside Arizona, the rate stayed under 1% in every year.

Source: NHTSA FARS 2013-2024 national accident files. Computed by AZ Law Now.

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The worst year was 2022, when 10.3% of Arizona’s 1,200 fatal crashes had a scene fact unknown. Over the 12 years, 976 people died in Arizona crashes whose federal record left at least one of the four unknown.

The State’s Own Records Show It Too

The federal file is built from Arizona’s crash reports, so we checked the state’s own database. ADOT’s Arizona Crash Information System holds every reported crash in the state, which we obtained through a public records request.

From 2018 to 2025, ADOT’s records list the light condition, the manner of collision, or the junction as unknown in 668 of 8,440 fatal crashes, 7.9%.

In crashes that hurt someone without killing anyone, the same gaps showed up in 0.76% of crashes. The missing facts cluster in the deadliest crashes, where a family often has no one left to say what happened.

The data shows where the facts are missing. It doesn’t say why.

Why It Matters After a Crash

The police crash report is usually the first document an insurance adjuster reads. Fault arguments start from it.

When the collision type or the junction is listed as unknown, there’s nothing on paper to say whether a driver ran a light, turned across traffic, or pulled out of a driveway. When the light condition is listed as unknown, there’s nothing to say whether a driver should have seen a pedestrian.

That part of the story has to be proven another way:

• business, traffic, and doorbell camera video, which often overwrites within 30 days
• the vehicles’ event data recorders
• 911 recordings and dispatch logs
• witness statements taken while memories are fresh
• scene photos, skid marks, and debris, measured before they’re cleared
• an accident reconstruction

For families who lost someone, the record may also be the only official account of the crash. Arizona generally allows two years to bring a wrongful death claim under ARS 12-611 and ARS 12-542. The evidence that answers what the report left out is usually gone much sooner.

This describes how these cases work in general. It isn’t legal advice for a specific case.

What This Means

If you were hurt in a Phoenix crash, or a family member was killed, get a copy of the crash report and read it before you talk to an insurer.

Look at the light condition, the collision type, and the crash diagram. An unknown or a blank is a sign that someone needs to go find the evidence now.

Our Phoenix car crash lawyers pull the full report, request the video and vehicle data, and send preservation letters early. Our Phoenix wrongful death lawyers do the same for families, and the first conversation is free.

How I Counted

I used the NHTSA FARS national accident files for 2013 to 2024, which cover every fatal crash on a public road in all 50 states and DC.

A crash counts as missing a scene fact when the light condition (LGT_COND), the relation to the road (REL_ROAD), the relation to a junction (RELJCT2), or the manner of collision (MAN_COLL) carries the code for not reported or unknown.

Phoenix is FARS city code 370 in Maricopa County. “Rest of the US” means the other 49 states and DC. Weather was left out because many states record it as unknown, so it says little about Arizona.

ADOT figures come from the Arizona Crash Information System for 2018 to 2025, the years ADOT’s light condition field carries an unknown code. A crash counts when its light condition, manner of collision, or junction relation is coded unknown.

Related Coverage

For the roads where Phoenix crashes kill the most people, see our investigation into Phoenix’s deadliest intersections on Indian School Road. On the freeways, see how I-10 truck crash deaths rose 76% between Phoenix and Tucson.