Polk County, Florida Car Accident Statistics
113 people died in 107 fatal crashes in Polk County in 2024, according to NHTSA: 13.2 deaths per 100,000 residents, against 13.4 for Florida and 11.5 nationally. From 2019 through 2024 the county had 844 traffic deaths in 780 crashes, and 17% of the people killed were pedestrians.
Traffic deaths in Polk County by year
| Year | Deaths | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 113 | 107 |
| 2023 | 157 | 143 |
| 2022 | 133 | 121 |
| 2021 | 182 | 172 |
| 2020 | 134 | 122 |
| 2019 | 125 | 115 |
Who died
People killed in Polk County crashes, 2019–2024.
Roads with the most fatal crashes
| Road | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| US-27 | 71 | 75 |
| US-98 | 56 | 61 |
| SR-60 | 54 | 67 |
| US-17 | 39 | 43 |
| I-4 | 37 | 41 |
| US-92 | 36 | 37 |
| SR-33 | 18 | 18 |
| SR-37 | 17 | 19 |
| SR-540 | 14 | 14 |
| SR-17 | 13 | 14 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lakeland | 113 | 121 |
| Lake Wales | 28 | 29 |
| Winter Haven | 27 | 28 |
| Haines City | 24 | 24 |
| Bartow | 16 | 17 |
| Auburndale | 15 | 16 |
| Davenport | 10 | 10 |
| Mulberry | 7 | 8 |
| Dundee | 4 | 4 |
| Frostproof | 4 | 4 |
When fatal crashes happen
Time of day
Day of week (most: Saturday)
54% of fatal crashes in Polk County happened in the dark, and 27% on roads classed as rural.
Drinking and speeding
What the first impact was with:
After a crash in Florida
Injury claims have a filing deadline set by state law. See Florida's car accident statute of limitations, and how shared fault can reduce what you recover.
Car accident lawyers in Lakeland
Lawbamba lists 6 car accident lawyers with an office in Lakeland, Florida, the practice area that deals with the fatal crash records on this page. These 4 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 Polk County?
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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.