2005 Hit and Run Victim Summary

Based off media reports, 1454 people lost their lives to hit and run drivers in US during 2005. That is the unscientific findings of an internet site, www.deadlyroads.com, that set out to record every victim it could find in media reports. As a grass roots site attempting to raise public awareness of the crime, the site recently released its 2005 year end findings.

While the average number killed per day stood at 3.96, the worst single day for hit and run driver deaths stood at 20 on Sunday, October 20th. The pre-Thanksgiving weekend of November 19th and 20th stood as the worst weekend of the year. October stood as the worst month with 153 fatalities, followed closely by September at 147. October also included one of the worst incidents when 4 young teen boys were killed when the car they were riding in struck a tree at high speed in Clark County, Ohio. Only one month saw fewer than 100 victims, that being the shortest month February, with 87 victims.

Nearly 55% of  those that were killed by hit and run drivers were pedstrains, and another 4% being persons outside a disable vehicle. The next largest group of victims were vehicle passengers at 15%, followed by drivers at 10-1/2%. Bicyclists made up 9% of victims, with motorcyclists fairing better at 5%. The remainder were not recorded in media stories reviewed. Females made up 29% of victims, while 15% were 18 or younger, and 9% were 65 years or older.

Please note the disclaimer posted on www.deadlyroads.com before using this information. 

updated 2/27