The Ohio State Highway Patrol has released crash statistics that show 6,262 people died in crashes across the state between 2019 and 2023.
According to OSHP, there were 5,773 crashes with fatalities during that time period, with one in four crashes resulting from a motorist driving off the road. After that, the most common causes of crashes were unsafe speed, driving left of center, failure to yield the right of way, following too closely, and running a stop sign.
The highest number of crashes occurred in Franklin County at 570 over the five-year period. Cuyahoga County came in second with 487 crashes. Hamilton was third with 319, Montgomery had 286, and Lucas County had 225. The top five counties accounted for 33% of all fatal crashes.
Here's a county-by-county breakdown of the number of fatal crashes in our area during that time period:
| County | No. of crashes | No. of fatal crashes |
| Ashland | 5,964 | 38 |
| Ashtabula | 9,135 | 72 |
| Cuyahoga | 150,251 | 487 |
| Carroll | 1,864 | 22 |
| Erie | 10,651 | 50 |
| Geauga | 8,433 | 62 |
| Holmes | 3,339 | 32 |
| Huron | 6,038 | 37 |
| Lake | 20,550 | 46 |
| Lorain | 29,435 | 108 |
| Medina | 15,333 | 57 |
| Portage | 16564 | 79 |
| Richland | 16,506 | 66 |
| Stark | 42,775 | 140 |
| Summit | 69,445 | 208 |
| Trumbull | 19,702 | 97 |
| Tuscarawas | 11,751 | 49 |
| Wayne | 9,473 | 84 |
During that 5-year period, Cuyahoga County led our area with more than 150,000 crashes and nearly 500 fatalities. Of those, most crashes occurred on I-90 (8,368) and I-480 (6,121).
Statewide statistics show that more than 34% of fatal crashes happened between 5 and 10 p.m., with Fridays and Saturdays being the most common days for crashes. Interstates 71, 75, 70 and U.S. Route 40 had the most crashes during the five-year period.
OSHP said the best way to reduce the number of crashes is to not drive distracted, watch your speed, keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you, and obey traffic laws.
CLICK HERE for OSHP's interactive crash dashboard.
