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Fatal hit-and-run crashes on the rise, new AAA research shows

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Published  March 11, 2026 10:34pm EDT
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FOX 5 DC

The Brief

    • The annual number of fatal hit-and-run crashes has been increasing since 2010, spiked in 2020, and reached an all-time high in 2022, according to AAA.
    • 1 in 5 cyclist injuries and 1 in 4 pedestrian injuries in 2023 occurred in a hit-and-run crash, researchers said.
    • More than 70 percent of people killed in hit-and-run crashes were pedestrians and bicyclists, they added.

WASHINGTON - New research shows there’s been an increase in fatal hit-and-run crashes.

What we know:

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the annual number and percentage of traffic deaths from hit-and-run crashes has been increasing since 2010, spiked in 2020, and then reached an all-time high of 2,972 deaths in 2022. 

In 2023, which is the most recent available data, the total number of hit-and-run deaths fell slightly, but the percentage of total deaths continued to increase.

By the numbers:

Researchers also found that about 1 in 10 injuries of people inside vehicles occur in hit-and-run crashes. Meanwhile, they found that 1 in 5 cyclist injuries and 1 in 4 pedestrian injuries in 2023 happened in hit-and-runs.

As for people killed in hit-and-run crashes, researchers concluded that more than 70 percent were pedestrians and bicyclists. They added that nearly 80 percent of all hit-and-run deaths happened in the dark.

Dig deeper:

The full research brief from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety can be found here.

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