Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers

Phoenix recorded 38,210 crashes in 2024. Two hundred ninety-nine were fatal. Three hundred seventy-nine people died. That's more than one person killed per day, every day, for a year.

I pull this data from ADOT's Crash Facts report annually. Phoenix is the largest city in Arizona and the fifth-largest in the country. It has more freeways, more intersections, more traffic volume, and more crashes than any other city in the state. Maricopa County accounts for 73 percent of all Arizona crashes. Phoenix accounts for the majority of Maricopa County.

The Most Dangerous Intersections in the Valley

MAG publishes a Top 100 Crash-Risk Intersections list. Phoenix dominates it. 67th Avenue and McDowell Road ranks first. 51st Avenue and Camelback Road is second. 19th Avenue and Peoria Avenue is third. The pattern is clear: wide, multi-lane arterials on the west and south sides of the city.

These aren't freeways. They're the roads people drive every day. Thomas Road, McDowell Road, Van Buren Street, 35th Avenue, Indian School Road. Seven lanes wide. Continuous turn lanes. Half-mile spacing between signals. Roads designed for throughput. Not for safety. I covered the data in the West Valley dangerous intersections investigation.

200 Pedestrians Die on Phoenix Streets Every Year

Phoenix had the second-highest number of pedestrian fatalities of any US city in 2023 at 109. Behind only Los Angeles. The city adopted a Vision Zero Road Safety Action Plan in 2022 and committed $10 million annually. Three years in, the death count hasn't meaningfully dropped.

The pedestrian deaths investigation I published shows that 76 percent of pedestrian fatalities in Arizona happen in darkness. The most dangerous hour is 6 to 7 p.m. Wide arterials, missing crosswalks, and insufficient lighting are the design factors. The AAA Foundation specifically cited Arizona's "vehicle-oriented design culture."

The Freeway Network

I-10, I-17, Loop 101, Loop 202, SR-51, US-60. Phoenix has more freeway miles per capita than most metro areas. Each corridor has its own crash profile.

I-10 through the West Valley carries 48 percent truck traffic. The truck crash data shows 47 percent of truck crash deaths happen during daytime business hours. The chameleon carriers investigation explains why some carriers on these freeways have safety records that don't reflect their actual history.

The wrong-way crashes investigation shows 1,740 wrong-way driver incidents in Arizona in 2024. Two-thirds involve impaired drivers. The I-17 detection system catches 88 percent of wrong-way entries, but fatal crashes on the corridor haven't dropped.

DUI Crashes: 3,544 in Maricopa County

Maricopa County had 3,544 alcohol-related crashes in 2024. That's 64 percent of the state total. The DUI crash data investigation covers the patterns: late night, weekend, arterial roads. When an impaired driver causes a crash, Arizona's dram shop law may hold the bar liable. The hit-and-run investigation shows impaired drivers are the most likely to flee.

We Handle Phoenix Cases

Our offices are in Buckeye and Maricopa. Phoenix is the metro anchor. We file in Maricopa County Superior Court regularly.

The difference is our data. I track the ADOT numbers, the MAG intersection reports, the FMCSA carrier records, and the investigation data that gives every case an evidentiary foundation most firms don't build. That head start matters when the insurance company pushes back.

If you or someone in your family was in a crash in Phoenix, call (602) 654-0202 or use our contact form. The consultation is free. We don't charge unless we recover money for you.