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I-45 accidents in Houston: crash data by year (2018–2024)

City of Houston and NHTSA crash counts for I-45 by year, the share of serious crashes that were fatal, and its highest-ranked intersection.

7 min readPublished October 22, 2026Last updated October 22, 2026Edited by Joseph Budzinski, CTO, InjuryClaimGuide

The short answer

In official City of Houston crash data, I-45 had 840 crashes from 2018 to 2023 in which someone was killed or seriously injured, more than any other street in the dataset. 195 of them were fatal, about 23%, compared with about 17% across all Houston streets. Federal FARS data counts between 38 and 54 fatal crashes a year on I-45 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024.

This page goes further than our guide to Houston's highest-injury roads: it gives I-45's counts of people killed and seriously injured by year, the share of serious crashes that were fatal, how much of I-45's fatal-crash count falls inside the City of Houston, and what the records say about where on the freeway crashes happened. It is general information about public data, not legal advice, and it says nothing about any particular crash.

Key facts (data as of 2026-10-22)

  • Data sources. The City of Houston's Vision Zero layer of traffic deaths and serious injuries, January 2018 to May 2024 (from TxDOT's crash records system, CRIS), and NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for Harris County, 2019 to 2024. See Vision Zero Houston and NHTSA FARS.
  • 2018 to 2023, City data. 840 KSI crashes on I-45 (crashes in which someone was killed or suspected seriously injured), 195 of them fatal; 205 people killed and 717 seriously injured. That is about 9% of the 9,528 KSI crashes on all streets in the dataset, and about 12% of its 1,621 fatal crashes.
  • Fatal share. About 23% of I-45's KSI crashes were fatal, against about 17% on all streets in the same data.
  • 2019 to 2024, FARS. 274 fatal crashes on I-45 in Harris County, in which 287 people died; 197 of those crashes (about 72%) were recorded inside the City of Houston.
  • Download the numbers. houston-corridor-crashes-2018-2024.csv has every count on this page by road, source and year.
  • Data credit. NHTSA FARS data is a work of the U.S. government and is not under copyright (17 U.S.C. §105). The City of Houston layer is public data published by the City of Houston Planning & Development Department from TxDOT CRIS records; the City does not state a license for it. Please credit "City of Houston Vision Zero (TxDOT CRIS)" and "NHTSA FARS".

How many serious crashes happened on I-45 each year?

City of Houston data, crashes in and near the city. A crash is counted once, however many people were hurt; a crash is fatal if anyone died.

YearKSI crashesFatal crashesSerious-injury crashesPeople killedPeople seriously injuredShare of KSI crashes that were fatal
201812227952910522%
2019146341123512123%
2020137321053211523%
2021150281222913419%
2022142361063611625%
2023143381054412627%
202456 (Jan–May only)16 (Jan–May only)40 (Jan–May only)18 (Jan–May only)44 (Jan–May only)29% (Jan–May only)

From 2018 to 2023, I-45 had between 122 and 150 KSI crashes a year. The number of people killed in a single year ranged from 29 to 44.

What share of I-45's serious crashes were fatal?

Of I-45's 840 KSI crashes from 2018 to 2023, 195 were fatal: about 23%. On all streets in the City data for the same years, 1,621 of 9,528 KSI crashes were fatal: about 17%. By year, I-45's share ranged from 19% (2021) to 27% (2023).

What this can say: a larger share of I-45's serious crashes ended in a death than across Houston streets as a whole. What it can't say: why. The data does not record speeds, traffic volumes or the causes of crashes, and a share computed from a few dozen fatal crashes a year can move several points from one year to the next.

How many fatal crashes did FARS count on I-45 county-wide?

NHTSA's FARS covers every fatal crash in Harris County, inside and outside the City of Houston, and counts a death if it happened within 30 days of the crash.

YearFatal crashes, Harris CountyPeople killed, Harris CountyFatal crashes inside the City of HoustonShare inside the city
201940413075%
202042482969%
202138402566%
202250503672%
202354553769%
202450534080%

From 2019 to 2024, FARS counts 274 fatal crashes on I-45 in Harris County, about 9% of the 2,979 fatal crashes on all roads in the county. About 72% of them (197) were recorded inside the City of Houston, more than the share for all Harris County roads (1,723 of 2,979, about 58%). FARS counts are higher than the City's fatal counts mainly because FARS also covers I-45 outside the city.

Where on I-45 do the serious crashes happen?

The data can only partly answer this.

At intersections. Our intersection study groups City KSI crashes from 2021 to 2023 that happened within about 250 feet (76 metres) of the same spot. Of the 17 Houston locations with at least 5 KSI crashes, one is on I-45:

Rank among the 17LocationKSI crashes, 2021–2023Fatal crashesPeople killedPeople seriously injuredKSI crashes by year (2021 / 2022 / 2023)
2I-45 at W Greens Rd83351 / 4 / 3

A location like this one can include crashes on the frontage roads and at the cross street, so its crashes are not all part of the I-45 counts above.

In how the road was recorded. FARS records the road name the way the reporting officer wrote it. Of the 274 fatal crashes on I-45 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024:

  • 76 were recorded with "North Freeway" in the road name and 57 with "Gulf Freeway"; the other 141 were recorded only as I-45, so they cannot be placed on either side of downtown;
  • 30 were recorded on a ramp; and
  • 42 were recorded on a frontage or service road.

The City data is less specific: it records 891 of its 896 I-45 KSI crashes from January 2018 to May 2024 simply as "IH0045", without a side, lane or ramp.

What is TxDOT building on I-45?

As of 2026-10-22, TxDOT describes the North Houston Highway Improvement Project as "a planned reconstruction of I-45N, between Houston's downtown and the North Sam Houston Tollway, also known as Beltway 8", which will "reroute I-45 through the downtown Houston area along I-10 and US 59/I-69". The crash data on this page does not show whether construction, or any other change, affected crash counts.

How were these numbers built, and what can't they tell you?

The method is the same as in our guide to Houston's highest-injury roads, which explains it in full:

  • Every name I-45 goes by. I-45, IH0045, North Freeway and Gulf Freeway are all counted, including crashes on frontage roads, which crash records file under the freeway's name.
  • Main street only. A crash at a cross street counts toward I-45 only if the report lists I-45 as the main street, so the counts are conservative.
  • Two sources, two scopes. The City data covers crashes in and near Houston, not all of I-45 in Harris County. FARS covers the whole county but only fatal crashes.
  • Counts, not rates. The numbers are not adjusted for traffic volume or road length, so they do not show the risk of any single trip.
  • Not every crash. Only crashes with a death or suspected serious injury are in the public City layer. The City data ends in May 2024, and NHTSA can revise its most recent FARS file.
  • No causes or fault. The counts do not say why any crash happened or who was responsible.

Nothing in the data or on this page identifies any person; it contains counts only.

Where can I get the crash report for a crash on I-45?

A Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (form CR-3) is written by the law enforcement agency that investigated the crash and filed with TxDOT. See How to get a crash report in Houston for Houston-area agencies, How to get a Texas crash report for the statewide process, and How to read a Texas crash report for what the fields and codes on the form mean.

Related Houston information

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Frequently asked questions

How many fatal crashes happen on I-45 in Houston each year?
Federal FARS data counts between 38 and 54 fatal crashes a year on I-45 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024. The City of Houston's dataset, which covers crashes in and near the city, counts between 27 and 38 fatal crashes a year on I-45 from 2018 to 2023.
What share of serious crashes on I-45 were fatal?
In the City of Houston data for 2018 to 2023, 195 of I-45's 840 crashes that killed or seriously injured someone were fatal, about 23%. Across all Houston streets in the same data the share was about 17% (1,621 of 9,528).
Where on I-45 do the most serious crashes happen?
The data can only partly answer this. Among the 17 Houston locations with at least 5 fatal or serious-injury crashes from 2021 to 2023, one is on I-45, at W Greens Rd, with 8 such crashes. Most I-45 crash records do not say which stretch of the freeway the crash was on.
Where can I get the police report for a crash on I-45?
The report is written by the agency that investigated the crash and filed with TxDOT. Texas crash reports (form CR-3) can be bought online through TxDOT's Crash Records Information System. Our guide to getting a crash report in Houston explains who may obtain one and how Houston-area agencies handle requests.

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