Fatal car crashes in Everett, WA: deadliest roads, 2020-2024

From 2020 through 2024, federal crash records list 68 fatal crashes inside Everett, in which 72 people died. The roads with the most were Evergreen Way with 14 fatal crashes, State Route 99 with 11 and I-5 with 7.

Filing deadline, fault rule, insurance and the court for a crash in Everett: Everett, WA injury guide.

This page counts the fatal crashes that NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the national database of traffic crashes in which someone died, codes to the city of Everett. From 2020 through 2024 there were 68 such crashes, and they killed 72 people. The counts for 2020 to 2023 come from NHTSA's Final Files; those for 2024 come from the Annual Report File, NHTSA's first release for that year, which may be revised when the final file appears.

2022 stands out as the worst year in Everett's five-year record, with 21 fatal crashes and 22 deaths, nearly double the 11 crashes recorded in each of 2021 and 2023. The other years were close together: 13 crashes and 13 deaths in 2020, 11 crashes and 12 deaths in 2021, 11 crashes and 11 deaths in 2023, and 12 crashes that killed 14 people in 2024.

Snohomish County recorded 236 fatal crashes and 253 deaths in the same period, so Everett accounts for 29 percent of the county's fatal crashes and 28 percent of its deaths. Washington as a whole recorded 3,253 fatal crashes and 3,530 deaths. Among Washington cities in these records, only Seattle (190 deaths), Tacoma (148) and Spokane (102) lost more people than Everett, and Vancouver, with 71, was one death behind.

Evergreen Way heads Everett's table with 14 fatal crashes and 14 deaths, the latest in 2024. That is three more crashes than State Route 99, with 11 crashes and 11 deaths, also with one in 2024, and twice the 7 crashes on I-5, which killed 8 people, the latest in 2022. Together, Evergreen Way and State Route 99 hold 25 of the city's 68 fatal crashes, 37 percent.

State Route 529 had 6 fatal crashes, the latest in 2023, and Broadway had 4. Marine View Dr and State Route 527 had 3 each. At the bottom of the table, Airport Rd had 2 crashes that killed 4 people, while W Casino Rd and Ramp (I-5) had 2 crashes and 2 deaths each. The ten rows add up to 54 of the 68 crashes and 57 of the 72 deaths, leaving 14 fatal crashes on roads outside the table.

These counts locate crashes; they do not explain them. A long run of fatal crashes on one road says nothing about who was at fault in any one of them, and a claim after an Everett crash rests on its own evidence: the report from the agency that responded, photographs, witnesses, any video and the vehicles themselves. Each of those is far easier to secure in the first days than months later.

Wet weather is part of Everett's record: rain was recorded in 16 of the 68 fatal crashes, clouds in 11 and fog, smog or smoke in 2, while 38 happened in clear weather and 1 had no weather reported. Darkness was more common still. Forty-one crashes happened after dark, 34 of them on lighted roads, 6 on unlit roads and 1 with the lighting unknown, against 21 in daylight, 5 at dusk and 1 at dawn.

By time of day, 26 fatal crashes came between 6 p.m. and midnight and 16 between midnight and 6 a.m., 42 in the twelve hours from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., while afternoons from noon to 6 p.m. had 15 and mornings 11. Friday had the most fatal crashes of any day, 15, followed by Monday with 11 and Sunday with 10; Tuesday had the fewest, 6. None of the 68 crashes happened in a work zone.

Most crashes did not begin with a collision between vehicles in transport, that is, vehicles moving or stopped in the roadway. In 46 of the 68, the first harmful event was something else: a pedestrian in 25, a guardrail in 4, and in the rest a curb, a utility pole, a rollover or another event. The other 22 began between vehicles: 13 angle crashes, 4 head-on, 3 rear-end and 2 same-direction sideswipes. Thirty-nine crashes were non-junction, away from any intersection, driveway or ramp; 20 were at or related to an intersection and 6 were tied to a driveway.

Pedestrians are the most distinctive part of Everett's toll. Of the 72 people killed, 29 were pedestrians, 40 percent, second only to the 35 drivers who died. Six passengers were killed, and 2 more people were on personal conveyances, one of them motorized, a FARS category kept separate from walking and cycling. Measured by crash, 29 of the 68 involved a pedestrian, cyclist or other person outside a vehicle, 43 percent.

Sixteen of the people killed were on a motorcycle or moped, 22 percent of the total. Riders' claims often come down to whether another driver saw them and yielded, and 13 of the 22 crashes that began with a collision with another vehicle in transport were angle crashes, in which the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another. For pedestrians, the questions are usually where the person crossed, the signal and the lighting. For the families of those killed, Washington's wrongful death claim generally has three years: RCW 4.20.010 creates the claim but states no deadline, and the three years come from RCW 4.16.080(2).

This example is hypothetical, with round figures chosen only to show how Washington's rules work. Suppose a driver turning left at an Everett intersection on a rainy night is hit by an oncoming car whose driver was going well over the speed limit. Her medical care costs $90,000, she loses $30,000 in wages, and her pain and suffering are valued at $20,000, for $140,000 in all. The speeding driver's insurer argues she turned when it was not safe and puts 65 percent of the fault on her.

Washington applies pure comparative negligence. She can recover damages even though she was mostly at fault, but her award is reduced by her percentage of fault. At 65 percent, the $140,000 becomes $49,000, the 35 percent that is not hers. If evidence of the other car's speed, such as video, the damage pattern or the vehicles' event data, moved her share down to 25 percent, she would recover $105,000 instead.

Policy limits then decide what is practical. Washington runs an at-fault system with a minimum of 25/50/10, so the least a driver can carry is $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for everyone hurt in a crash and $10,000 for property. Against the $49,000 version of her claim, a minimum policy leaves $24,000 unpaid; against the $105,000 version, $80,000. Whether any other insurance fills the gap depends on the policies and the facts.

The first hours after a crash decide what evidence survives, and Washington adds a paperwork deadline of its own. If no officer investigates and reports the collision, each driver must make a written report within four days when anyone was hurt or killed or any one person's property suffered $1,000 or more in damage (RCW 46.52.030; WAC 446-85-010). By law it goes to the city chief of police for a crash inside a city, and the Washington State Patrol accepts the Motor Vehicle Collision Report online or on its paper form.

• When an officer does not come to the scene and nobody entitled to your information can receive it, RCW 46.52.020 requires you to report the collision forthwith to the nearest police office.
• On a wet night, photograph the road surface, the lighting and where the vehicles stopped before they are moved; rain was recorded in 16 of Everett's 68 fatal crashes.
• If a pedestrian was struck, note the nearest crosswalk, signal and street light and whether each was working.
• Request the collision report through the State Patrol's WRECR records system once it is available, and check it for errors.
• See a doctor within a day and keep every record; treatment that starts early makes it easier to link later symptoms to the crash.
• If a city, county or other local government vehicle was involved, remember that a tort claim form comes before any lawsuit.

A lawsuit over a crash inside Everett would ordinarily be filed in the Snohomish County Superior Court, although some cases belong in another county or in federal court. RCW 4.16.080 generally gives an injured person three years from the date of injury to sue. Even three years runs out: a case filed after that will generally be dismissed, however clear the other driver's fault.

Two exceptions are worth knowing. For an injured child, the clock generally pauses until 18. And a claim against a city, county or other local government starts with a tort claim form plus a 60-day wait before suit; the deadline is paused for those 60 days (RCW 4.96.020). Both are reasons to confirm the exact date with an attorney early rather than rely on the general three years.

Move the left-turn example across a state line and the result can change completely. Washington's pure comparative rule lets the driver who was 65 percent at fault recover $49,000. In a state with a bar at 50 or 51 percent, the same finding would end her claim, and in Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina or Virginia, which keep contributory negligence, even a small share of fault can generally bar recovery altogether.

The insurance system and the deadline differ as well. Washington is an at-fault state, so the other driver's liability policy pays first. Florida, Michigan, New York and New Jersey are no-fault states, where an injured person's own coverage pays certain losses first whatever the cause. And while Washington generally allows three years, Tennessee allows one year for most injury claims, so a delay that is harmless in Everett could end a claim there.

Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, so the fee comes from any recovery rather than up front. Ask Legal Matters is a personal injury lead-generation service that collects free case review requests from injured people in the United States and shares them with independent attorneys and law firms. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in Washington, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say whether a claim exists. If you or a relative was hurt in a crash in Everett, you can request a free case review.

• What do federal records show about fatal car crashes in Seattle?
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• Which U.S. cities had the most fatal car accidents in 2023?
• What should you do after a car accident?

More on this type of claim: Car accidents: evidence, deadlines and when to ask an attorney.

• Everett, Washington: local injury guide, court and deadlines
• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Pedestrian Accident Claims: Rights, Fault and Compensation

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