Fatal car crashes in Springfield, IL: deadliest roads, 2020-2024

From 2020 through 2024, federal crash records list 63 fatal crashes inside Springfield, in which 64 people died. The roads with the most were Lake Shore Dr with 5 fatal crashes, Macarthur Blvd (State Route 54) with 5 and Dirksen Pkwy (State Route 29) with 4.

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

Every crash figure in this guide is drawn from one federal source, the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) uses it to record fatal traffic crashes across the country, and it credits Springfield, Illinois, with 63 fatal crashes over 2020-2024 and 64 deaths. NHTSA's Final Files cover 2020 to 2023. For 2024 the figures are from the Annual Report File, NHTSA's preliminary first release, which the final 2024 file may revise.

2023 stands out, with 20 fatal crashes, seven more than any other year. The other years were lower: 8 crashes in 2020, 12 in 2021 and 10 in 2022, and 13 crashes with 14 deaths in NHTSA's first release for 2024. In every year but 2024, each fatal crash killed exactly one person, so deaths and crashes match: 8, 12, 10 and 20. In 2024 one crash killed two people.

Springfield carries most of its county's toll. Of the 119 fatal crashes in all of Sangamon County over the five years, 63 were in Springfield, 53 percent, and the city's 64 deaths are 52 percent of the county's 123. Among the Illinois places in our guides, only Chicago, with 949 deaths, and Rockford, with 91, recorded more; Joliet (55) and Harvey (53) come next. Illinois as a whole recorded 5,671 fatal crashes and 6,213 deaths.

Two rows share the top of Springfield's road table. Lake Shore Dr and Macarthur Blvd (State Route 54) each had 5 fatal crashes and 5 deaths, both with a crash as recent as 2024. Two more rows are one crash behind, with 4 crashes and 4 deaths each: Dirksen Pkwy (State Route 29), the latest in 2024, and Veterans Pkwy (State Route 4), the latest in 2023. Three rows had 3 fatal crashes and 3 deaths each: State Route 29 (street name not recorded), the latest in 2024, and Monroe St and S 11th St, both last in 2023.

Three rows close the table with 2 fatal crashes each. On State Route 4 (street name not recorded), those 2 crashes killed 3 people, the latest in 2024, making it the only row with more deaths than crashes. I-55 had 2 crashes and 2 deaths, the latest in 2024, and E Cook St had 2 and 2, the latest in 2023. The ten rows together hold 33 crashes and 34 deaths, 52 percent of Springfield's fatal crashes and 53 percent of its deaths, so 30 of the 63 crashes happened on roads that are not in the table.

No row in the table has more than 5 of the 63 crashes; the clearer pattern in Springfield's record is where on a road crashes happened, at intersections, as the next section shows. A road's count also says nothing about fault in any one crash. That comes from the evidence: the report of the police agency that responded, the signal phase, the drivers' sight lines, witness accounts and the data some vehicles store about speed and braking.

More than half of Springfield's fatal crashes, 34 of 63, happened at an intersection or were related to one: 23 at the intersection itself and 11 related to one. Another 25 were away from any junction, 3 were related to driveway access and 1 happened at a railway grade crossing. Collisions between vehicles in transport, meaning moving or stopped in the roadway, started 27 crashes, and 19 of those were angle crashes, with 4 rear-end and 4 head-on.

Springfield's record is split almost evenly by light. Daylight accounts for 32 crashes; darkness for 31, with street lighting at 20 of those and none at 11. The evening from 6 p.m. to midnight had 21 crashes, the afternoon from noon to 6 p.m. 18, midnight to 6 a.m. 13 and the morning 11. Monday had the most, 13, one more than Friday and Saturday with 12 each; Sunday had 11, and Tuesday through Thursday 15 together.

The 36 crashes that began some other way started with striking a pedestrian in 9, a tree in 5, a cyclist in 4 and a curb in 3, and with mailboxes, parked vehicles, people on personal conveyances and other fixed objects in 2 each; a railway vehicle, a rollover, a pavement irregularity, a wall, a utility pole, a sign support and a signal support account for 1 each. Rain fell in 8 crashes, clouds covered 1 and the other 54 were clear. A single crash occurred in a construction work zone; 32 involved only one vehicle.

Drivers dominate Springfield's toll: 40 of the 64 people killed, exactly five in eight, were driving. Nine passengers died. Riders stand out among those vehicle occupants: 11 people on motorcycles or mopeds died, 17 percent of the total and two more than the 9 pedestrians. For an injured rider, the insurer of a driver who turned across the motorcycle's path often argues about the rider's speed or visibility, so photos, helmet or dash video and witnesses matter early.

Fifteen of the 64 were outside any vehicle: 9 pedestrians, 4 bicyclists, 1 person on a personal conveyance and 1 on a motorized personal conveyance, as FARS labels them. Fifteen crashes, 24 percent of the 63, had someone outside a vehicle involved, whether a pedestrian, a cyclist or another non-occupant. Their claims generally go to the driver's liability insurer, where the questions are usually the crossing, the signal and what the driver could see.

Everything in this example is hypothetical, and the figures are round on purpose. On a weekday afternoon, a motorcyclist rides straight through a Springfield intersection on a green light, and a driver coming the other way turns left across his path. His medical bills, lost earnings and other losses come to $150,000. The driver's insurer admits its driver turned without enough room but says the rider was going too fast to stop and assigns him 40 percent of the fault.

Illinois's rule is modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. Recovery is allowed as long as the injured person's share of fault is no more than 50 percent, and it is reduced by that share; above 50 percent, nothing is recovered. At 40 percent, the rider's $150,000 becomes $90,000. At exactly 50 percent he would still recover $75,000. One more point changes everything, because at 51 percent he would be more than half at fault and would recover nothing, which is why the evidence about his speed would be fought over.

The policy limit comes next. The rider's claim would go to the driver's liability insurer, Illinois being an at-fault state, and the minimum Illinois requires is 25/50/20. Those figures are thousands of dollars: $25,000 is the most such a policy pays for one injured person, $50,000 the most for everyone hurt in a single crash, and $20,000 the most for property damage. With only the minimum, $65,000 of the rider's $90,000 would be beyond the policy, and whether any other coverage pays it depends on the policies and the facts.

Illinois's reporting rule turns on whether an officer comes to the scene. When none does, 625 ILCS 5/11-407 requires the driver to notify the police immediately, by the fastest means available, after a crash that injures or kills anyone, involves a school bus, or damages anyone's property, the driver's own included, by more than $1,500, or by more than $500 if a vehicle involved is uninsured. For a crash inside a city such as Springfield, that notice goes to the local police. Drivers have not filed a separate written report with IDOT since 2021.

• Call 911 if anyone is hurt; if no officer comes to the scene, make the report to the police yourself without delay.
• Write down the officer's agency and the report number, and ask when the report will be ready.
• Photograph the signal heads, any turn arrows and the final positions of the vehicles; 34 of Springfield's 63 fatal crashes happened at intersections or were related to one.
• If you were on a motorcycle, do not throw away a damaged helmet or jacket; they can show how the impact happened.
• If the Illinois State Police investigated, copies of its report can be bought online; for other crashes, ask the agency that wrote the report.
• Where a city, county or other local public entity may be responsible, keep its separate deadline in mind: one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)).

Springfield cases that go to court would usually be filed in the Sangamon County Circuit Court, though an attorney may conclude that a particular case belongs in another county or court. 735 ILCS 5/13-202 sets Illinois's general limit for an injury lawsuit at two years from the injury; an injured child's two years generally start running at 18 (735 ILCS 5/13-211). For a death, the family's wrongful death action has a two-year limit counted from the date of death (740 ILCS 180/2).

Claims against a local public entity, a category that includes cities and counties, have their own deadline: one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)). A crash while working can also lead to a workers' compensation claim before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, with notice to the employer generally due within 45 days and the claim within three years. Because the time limits differ by who is responsible, the safest step is to identify every possible party early.

Under Illinois's 51 percent bar, the rider in the example recovers $90,000 at 40 percent fault and $75,000 at exactly 50 percent, but nothing at 51. In a state with pure comparative negligence, he would still recover 49 percent of his losses at 51 percent fault. In Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina and Maryland, contributory negligence still applies: if the injured person shares any of the blame, the claim generally fails, so his 40 percent would usually leave him with nothing.

Insurance rules differ too. Because Illinois is an at-fault state, the turning driver's liability insurer is the one the rider claims against. No-fault states, among them New Jersey, Florida, Michigan and New York, send injured people to their own insurance first for certain losses, and a pain-and-suffering claim against the other driver is generally possible only when the injury crosses that state's tort threshold, as state law defines it. And while Illinois generally allows two years for an injury lawsuit, Tennessee allows one year for most injury claims.

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 your state. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say whether a claim exists. If you or someone close to you was hurt in a crash in Springfield, you can request a free case review.

• What do federal records show about fatal car crashes in Chicago?
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• What should you do after a car accident?

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

• Springfield, Illinois: local injury guide, court and deadlines
• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Motorcycle Accident Claims: Overcoming Rider Bias and Recovering Fully

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