A fatal motor vehicle accident can happen on any Wisconsin road, in any Wisconsin county, at any time. In 2018, 588 people lost their lives in Wisconsin motor vehicle crashes. In this article, we will take a closer look at how these fatal crashes happened in the 10 Wisconsin counties with the most accident deaths.
2018 Wisconsin Fatal Accidents
Throughout the state, 388 people died in rural motor vehicle accidents, 199 people died in urban motor vehicle crashes, and the location of three wrecks was unknown. There were 414 people who died were in passenger cars, 83 were motorcyclists, 56 were pedestrians, and four were bicyclists. Alcohol was a known factor in 199 fatal crashes, and speed was a known factor in 186 accidents.
Milwaukee County Fatal Accidents
In 2018, Milwaukee County had its fewest fatalities since 2014, but it still had the most motor vehicle deaths in the state—68 people died in Milwaukee County motor vehicle crashes during 2018. We now know that:
- 29 deaths involved alcohol-impaired driving
- 45 deaths were in single-vehicle crashes
- 2 deaths involved large trucks
- 43 deaths involved crashes where speeding was a factor
- 13 deaths happened in rollover wrecks
- 30 deaths involved roadway departures
- 23 deaths happened at intersections (or were intersection-related accidents)
- 25 people in passenger cars died
- 18 people in light trucks died
- 7 motorcyclists died
- 17 pedestrians died
Dane County Fatal Accidents
During 2018 in Dane County, 41 people died in crashes. This was the highest number of deaths in at least five years. The deaths included:
- 23 people who died in crashes with alcohol-impaired drivers
- 17 deaths in single-vehicle crashes
- 6 deaths in large truck crashes
- 11 deaths in accidents with drivers who were speeding
- Seven fatalities in rollover wrecks
- 27 deaths in roadway departure accidents
- 6 deaths in intersections or intersection-related accidents
- 22 deaths of passenger car occupants
- 11 deaths of light truck occupants
- 4 motorcycle rider deaths
- 4 pedestrian fatalities
Rock County Fatal Accidents
There was a significant increase in motor vehicle deaths in Rock County during 2018. In 2018, 30 people died in Rock County crashes, compared to 13 people in 2017, 23 people in 2016, 18 people in 2015, and 13 people in 2014. The 2018 fatalities included:
- 10 deaths in drunk driving accidents
- 18 deaths in single-vehicle crashes
- 7 fatalities in large truck accidents
- Five deaths in accidents where speeding was a known cause of the crash
- Seven deaths in rollover accidents
- 16 fatalities in roadway departure wrecks
- Six deaths in intersections or intersection-related accidents
- 10 deaths of people in passenger cars
- 10 deaths of light truck occupants
- 4 motorcyclist deaths
- 4 pedestrian deaths
- 1 bicyclist death
Waukesha County Fatal Accidents
During 2018, 25 people died in Waukesha county crashes. We know from the accident statistics that:
- 4 people died in alcohol-related wrecks
- 17 people died in single-vehicle accidents
- 3 people died in large truck accidents
- 6 people died in speeding accidents
- Seven people died in rollover crashes
- 16 people died when vehicles left the roadway
- 5 people died in intersections or intersection-related crashes
- 8 people died in passenger cars
- 11 died in light trucks
- 1 person died riding a motorcycle
- 3 people died in pedestrian crashes
- 1 person died in a bicycle accident
Racine County Fatal Accidents
The number of accident fatalities nearly doubled in Racine County from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, 20 people lost their lives compared to 11 people the previous year. In 2018, we know that:
- 6 deaths occurred in alcohol-related accidents
- 11 lives were lost in single-vehicle crashes
- 5 fatalities were reported in large truck wrecks
- 5 deaths occurred in collisions where speeding was a known accident cause
- 2 people died in rollover accidents
- 8 people died in roadway departure wrecks
- 6 people died at intersections or in intersection-related crashes
- 8 people died in passenger cars
- 5 lives were lost in light truck wrecks
- 3 motorcyclists lost their lives
- 3 pedestrians lost their lives
Brown County Fatal Accidents
Fewer people died in Brown County accidents during 2018 than in 2017. However, 18 people still lost their lives, including:
- 6 people in alcohol-related wrecks
- 6 people in single-vehicle crashes
- 8 people in speeding accidents
- 4 people in rollover crashes
- 4 people in roadway departure accidents
- 10 people in intersections or intersection-related wrecks
- 5 people in passenger car accidents
- 4 people in light truck crashes
- 6 people in motorcycle accidents
- 2 people in pedestrian accidents
- 1 person in a bicycle crash
Fond du Lac County Fatal Accidents
Fond du Lac was one of the Wisconsin counties that had a significant increase in traffic-related deaths during 2018. From 2014-2017, the county reported anywhere from 10-12 deaths. In 2018, 16 people lost their lives in Fond du Lac County crashes, including:
- 4 people in alcohol-related wrecks
- 5 people in single-vehicle crashes
- 2 people in large truck accidents
- 6 people in speeding accidents
- 3 people in rollover crashes
- 14 people in roadway departure accidents
- 3 people in intersections or intersection-related wrecks
- 8 people in passenger car accidents
- 6 people in light truck crashes
- 2 people in motorcycle accidents
Kenosha County Fatal Accidents
In 2018, 16 people died in Kenosha County crashes. While every crash was unique, we know that:
- 4 people died in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers
- 6 people died in single-vehicle wrecks
- 1 person died in a large truck accident
- 5 people died in speeding-related accidents
- 2 people died in rollover wrecks
- 3 people died in roadway departure crashes
- 5 people died in intersections or intersection-related accidents
- 4 people died in passenger car accidents
- 2 people died in light truck wrecks
- 5 people died in motorcycle accidents
- 5 people died in pedestrian accidents
Chippewa County Fatal Accidents
Fatal accidents have increased significantly in Chippewa County over the past few years. In 2016, one person died in a fatal Chippewa County crash. In 2017,12 people died, and in 2018, 14 people died. The 2018 fatalities included:
- 3 alcohol-related deaths
- 7 single-vehicle crash deaths
- 5 large truck accident deaths
- 1 speeding-related death
- 6 rollover accident deaths
- 10 roadway departure accident deaths
- 1 intersection or intersection-related accident death
- 6 passenger car accident deaths
- 2 light truck accident deaths
- 5 pedestrian deaths
Jefferson County Fatal Accidents
During 2018, 13 people died in Jefferson County crashes. We know that these deaths included:
- 5 fatalities in alcohol-related crashes
- 10 fatalities in single-vehicle accidents
- 1 fatality in a large truck accident
- 3 fatalities in speeding crashes
- 2 fatalities in rollover crashes
- 12 fatalities in roadway departure accidents
- 2 fatalities in intersections or intersection-related accidents
- 4 fatalities in passenger car accidents
- 7 fatalities in light truck crashes
- 2 fatalities in motorcycle wrecks
Fatal Accident Lawyers Serving All of Wisconsin
If your loved one died in a crash anywhere in Wisconsin, then we invite you to contact our experienced car accident wrongful death attorneys as soon as possible. For more than half a century, our lawyers have been helping people in Wisconsin seek justice. We will fight hard to help your family get the recovery that you deserve after your tragic loss.
Have You Been Injured In A Wisconsin, Illinois or Iowa Car Accident?
If you've been injured in a car accident you should speak to an experienced car accident attorney as soon as possible. You can contact us online or call our office directly at 800.800.5678 to schedule your free consultation with one of our car accident lawyers. We have been helping car accident victims since 1964 and service clients throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.
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