Santa Cruz County, California Car Accident Statistics
16 people died in 16 fatal crashes in Santa Cruz County in 2024, according to NHTSA: 6.1 deaths per 100,000 residents, against 9.8 for California and 11.5 nationally. From 2019 through 2024 the county had 134 traffic deaths in 128 crashes, and 25% of the people killed were pedestrians.
Traffic deaths in Santa Cruz County by year
| Year | Deaths | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 16 | 16 |
| 2023 | 25 | 24 |
| 2022 | 27 | 25 |
| 2021 | 28 | 26 |
| 2020 | 18 | 17 |
| 2019 | 20 | 20 |
Who died
People killed in Santa Cruz County crashes, 2019–2024.
Roads with the most fatal crashes
| Road | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| SR-1 | 21 | 21 |
| SR-9 | 9 | 9 |
| SR-129 | 8 | 9 |
| SR-17 | 7 | 7 |
| Freedom Blvd | 4 | 4 |
| Ocean St | 4 | 4 |
| Green Valley Rd | 4 | 5 |
| Soquel San Jose Rd | 4 | 4 |
| Beach St | 3 | 3 |
| SR-129 RIVERSIDE DR | 2 | 2 |
As named in crash reports, 2019–2024. Long highways cross many miles of the county, so they tend to rank high.
Fatal crashes inside city limits
| City | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz | 18 | 18 |
| Watsonville | 17 | 18 |
| Scotts Valley | 3 | 4 |
| Capitola | 2 | 2 |
When fatal crashes happen
Time of day
Day of week (most: Sunday)
46% of fatal crashes in Santa Cruz County happened in the dark, and 21% on roads classed as rural.
Drinking and speeding
What the first impact was with:
After a crash in California
Injury claims have a filing deadline set by state law. See California's car accident statute of limitations, and how shared fault can reduce what you recover.
Car accident lawyers in Santa Cruz
Lawbamba lists 3 car accident lawyers with an office in Santa Cruz, California, the practice area that deals with the fatal crash records on this page. These 3 come first in that listing (how the order is set).
Matched by practice area and office location only. These lawyers are not connected to the records on this page and have not reviewed or endorsed it.
Hurt in a crash in Santa Cruz County?
Compare car accident lawyers in Santa CruzOther California counties
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194 deaths in 2024
Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2024, which records every crash on a public road in which someone died within 30 days. Population figures are the Census Bureau's 2024 county estimates. A crash is counted where it happened, not where the people involved lived. “Drinking driver” means police reported a driver had been drinking; “speeding” means police reported at least one driver was speeding or going too fast for conditions. Injury-only crashes aren't in FARS.
Lawbamba is not affiliated with NHTSA, and this page is general information, not legal advice.