Thanksgiving 2017: fatal car accidents and deaths
Over Thanksgiving week 2017, Wednesday to Sunday (November 22 to 26), 607 people died in 540 fatal car accidents on US roads, 14% more than the 534 on the same weekdays around it. It was the most of the ten from 2015 to 2024. Thanksgiving Day alone: 127 deaths, against 100 on a normal day. The Wednesday before alone: 118 deaths, against 99 on a normal day.
2016 · 2018 · Every year together, day by day and state by state.
Thanksgiving 2017 road deaths in every state
California had the most, 87 deaths, then Texas with 63. In 46 of 51 states and DC at least one person died; a 0 is a real count of none. One year's counts are too small to rank states by; every year together ranks them per resident.
| State | Deaths | Fatal crashes | Pedestrians |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 87 | 75 | 14 |
| Texas | 63 | 58 | 9 |
| Florida | 59 | 51 | 10 |
| North Carolina | 27 | 26 | 3 |
| Ohio | 22 | 17 | 1 |
| Arizona | 19 | 18 | 2 |
| Georgia | 19 | 17 | 4 |
| Indiana | 18 | 16 | 3 |
| Missouri | 17 | 14 | 1 |
| Illinois | 16 | 16 | 3 |
| Alabama | 16 | 11 | 0 |
| Michigan | 14 | 14 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 14 | 13 | 3 |
| Virginia | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 14 | 11 | 0 |
| New York | 13 | 13 | 5 |
| Utah | 13 | 8 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 12 | 11 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 11 | 10 | 5 |
| Idaho | 11 | 9 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 8 | 2 |
| Kansas | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| Oregon | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Colorado | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Maryland | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Washington | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Maine | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Iowa | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Montana | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Nevada | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2024 Annual Report File (released April 2026, subject to revision). How we count
Questions about Thanksgiving 2017 fatal car accidents
- How many people died in car crashes on Thanksgiving 2017?
- 607 people died in 540 fatal crashes on US roads over Thanksgiving week 2017, Wednesday to Sunday (November 22 to 26), 14% more than the 534 on the same weekdays around it. Of them, 96 were pedestrians. Source: NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
- Which state had the most road deaths on Thanksgiving 2017?
- California, with 87 deaths. In 46 of 51 states and DC at least one person died on the roads.
- Was Thanksgiving 2017 deadlier than usual?
- 607 road deaths was the most of the ten from 2015 to 2024; the average is 546.
Where the Thanksgiving 2017 numbers come from
Every fatal crash NHTSA dated from Wednesday to Sunday of Thanksgiving week in 2017, in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, final file. The normal day is the same weekdays in the weeks before and after, averaged (6 of them this year). How the holiday is counted.