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SH-288 accidents in Houston: crash data by year (2018–2024)

Official City of Houston and NHTSA crash counts for SH-288 (the South Freeway) by year, the fatal share of serious crashes, the county-wide FARS count and how to get a crash report.

10 min readPublished October 30, 2026Last updated October 30, 2026Edited by Joseph Budzinski, CTO, InjuryClaimGuide

The short answer

In official City of Houston crash data, SH-288 (the South Freeway) had 143 crashes from 2018 to 2023 in which someone was killed or seriously injured. 22 of them were fatal, about 15%, compared with about 17% across all Houston streets. Federal FARS data counts between 1 and 8 fatal crashes a year on SH-288 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024, 26 in all, and 25 of them were inside the City of Houston.

SH-288 is not one of the six roads in our guide to Houston's highest-injury roads: it had fewer of these crashes than any of them. This page gives its counts the same way: people killed and seriously injured by year, the share of serious crashes that were fatal, the county-wide picture year by year, and what the records say about where on the freeway crashes happened. Because the counts are small, they move a lot from one year to the next. It is general information about public data, not legal advice, and it says nothing about any particular crash.

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Key facts (data as of 2026-10-30)

  • 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.
  • Checked. We downloaded the City layer and the FARS files on 2026-10-30 and built the counts from them. The City layer was last edited on 2024-08-21, and NHTSA had not yet posted its 2025 FARS file.
  • The road. TxDOT's designation file describes the state highway, SH 288, as starting in Houston at I-45 and running south through Manvel, Iowa Colony and Angleton to Freeport, in Harris and Brazoria counties (TxDOT, SH 288). Crash records call it SH-288, SR-288 or the South Freeway.
  • 2018 to 2023, City data. 143 KSI crashes on SH-288 (crashes in which someone was killed or suspected seriously injured), 22 of them fatal; 23 people killed and 146 seriously injured. That is about 2% of the 9,528 KSI crashes on all streets in the dataset, and about 1% of its 1,621 fatal crashes.
  • Fatal share. About 15% of SH-288's KSI crashes were fatal, against about 17% on all streets in the same data.
  • 2019 to 2024, FARS. 26 fatal crashes on SH-288 in Harris County, in which 28 people died; 25 of those crashes (about 96%) 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 (SH-288 is the "SH-288" rows), and houston-intersections-serious-crashes-2021-2023.csv is the intersection list, which has no SH-288 location.
  • 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 to cite. InjuryClaimGuide, "SH-288 accidents in Houston: crash data by year (2018–2024)", data as of 2026-10-30, from City of Houston Vision Zero (TxDOT CRIS) and NHTSA FARS data, https://getinjuryclaimguide.com/learning/houston-sh-288-crash-data
  • Reuse. Our tables and CSV files are licensed CC BY 4.0, which covers only InjuryClaimGuide's own work in compiling them. The counts come from public records, and the source data keep their own terms (see "Data credit"). These figures are InjuryClaimGuide's analysis; the City of Houston, TxDOT and NHTSA did not produce or review them.

How many serious crashes happened on SH-288 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
20182121921910%
20192021822210%
20202121932110%
20213062462620%
20222131832514%
20233072373323%
20249 (Jan–May only)1 (Jan–May only)8 (Jan–May only)1 (Jan–May only)11 (Jan–May only)11% (Jan–May only)

From 2018 to 2023, SH-288 had between 20 and 30 KSI crashes a year, with the highest counts in 2021 and 2023. The number of people killed in a single year ranged from 2 to 7.

What share of SH-288's serious crashes were fatal?

Of SH-288's 143 KSI crashes from 2018 to 2023, 22 were fatal: about 15%. On all streets in the City data for the same years, 1,621 of 9,528 KSI crashes were fatal: about 17%. By year, SH-288's share ranged from 10% (2018, 2019 and 2020) to 23% (2023).

What this can say: in the City data, the share of SH-288's serious crashes that ended in a death was a little below the share across Houston streets as a whole over the six full years, and higher in 2021 and 2023 than in the three years before. What it can't say: why. With two to seven fatal crashes a year, one or two crashes change the share by several points, so a single year's share says little. The data has no traffic volumes, and this study does not use the officers' contributing-factor or construction-zone fields.

How many fatal crashes did FARS count on SH-288 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
2019222100%
2020121100%
2021666100%
2022333100%
202388788%
2024676100%

From 2019 to 2024, FARS counts 26 fatal crashes on SH-288 in Harris County, about 1% of the 2,979 fatal crashes on all roads in the county. 25 of those crashes (about 96%) were recorded inside the City of Houston, far more than the share for all Harris County roads (1,723 of 2,979, about 58%). FARS rows here stop at the Harris County line, so SH-288 in Brazoria County is not in these counts.

Where on SH-288 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. None of the 17 Houston locations with at least 5 KSI crashes is on SH-288.

In how the road was recorded. FARS records the road name the way the reporting officer wrote it. Of the 26 fatal crashes on SH-288 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024:

  • 14 were recorded with "South Freeway" in the road name, and the other 12 were recorded only as SR-288;
  • one was recorded on a ramp; and
  • 4 were recorded on a frontage or service road.

The City data is less specific: it records all 152 of its SH-288 KSI crashes from January 2018 to May 2024 simply as "SH0288", with no lane or ramp in the road name. Neither source places most crashes at a particular part of the freeway.

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 SH-288 goes by. SH-288, SH0288, SR-288 and the South 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 SH-288 only if the report lists SH-288 as the main street, so the counts are conservative.
  • Two sources, two scopes. The City data covers crashes in and near Houston. FARS covers the whole of Harris County but only fatal crashes, and neither covers SH-288 in Brazoria County.
  • Small numbers. With a few dozen serious crashes and a handful of fatal crashes a year, the counts can rise or fall sharply from one year to the next without any change in the road.
  • 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 SH-288?

A Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (form CR-3) is written by the law enforcement agency that investigated the crash. Texas law requires an officer who investigates a crash that caused an injury or a death, or apparent damage to one person's property at or above the amount the statute sets, to make a written report and file it electronically with TxDOT not later than the tenth day after the crash (Tex. Transp. Code §550.062). Which agency that was depends on where the crash happened and who responded.

The counts on this page come from crash reports like these, but they are totals only: nothing here points to a particular crash or a particular report.

What does Texas law require of drivers after a crash on SH-288?

The collisions chapter of the Texas Transportation Code, starting at §550.021, sets a driver's duties after a crash, on a freeway or on any other road. In general terms:

  • Stop and check. The driver of a vehicle in a crash that results, or is reasonably likely to result, in injury to or death of a person must immediately stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, determine whether anyone involved needs aid, and remain until the information duties below are met. The stop is to be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary (§550.021).
  • Give information and aid. After a crash that injures or kills someone or damages a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person, the driver must give their name and address, the vehicle's registration number and the name of their liability insurer, show a driver's license if asked and if it is available, and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured (§550.023).
  • Report it. After a crash that injures or kills someone, or damages a vehicle so that it cannot be normally and safely driven, the driver must immediately notify the local police department if the crash happened in a city, or otherwise the sheriff's office or another office the statute names (§550.026(a)).

Our reference entry on a driver's duties after a crash quotes these sections, and the Texas car crash law reference collects the other statutes that come up after a crash. This is general information about what the statute says, not advice about any crash.

Related Houston information

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Frequently asked questions

How many fatal crashes happen on SH-288 in Houston each year?
Federal FARS data counts between 1 and 8 fatal crashes a year on SH-288 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024. The City of Houston's dataset, which covers crashes in and near the city, counts between 2 and 7 fatal crashes a year on SH-288 from 2018 to 2023.
What share of serious crashes on SH-288 were fatal?
In the City of Houston data for 2018 to 2023, 22 of SH-288's 143 crashes that killed or seriously injured someone were fatal, about 15%. Across all Houston streets in the same data the share was about 17% (1,621 of 9,528).
Why is SH-288 not on the list of Houston's highest-injury roads?
Our highest-injury roads guide covers the six streets with the most crashes that killed or seriously injured someone in the City data. SH-288 had fewer such crashes from 2018 to 2023 than any of those six, so it is covered here on its own page instead. A lower count is not a measure of risk, because the data is not adjusted for traffic volume or road length.
Does this data cover SH-288 south of Harris County?
No. TxDOT's designation file shows SH 288 continuing south into Brazoria County, through Manvel, Iowa Colony and Angleton to Freeport. The FARS rows on this page are Harris County only, and the City of Houston data covers crashes in and near the city, so crashes on SH-288 farther south are not counted here.
Where can I get the police report for a crash on SH-288?
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.
Who can get the full crash report for a crash on SH-288?
Texas Transportation Code §550.065 releases the full report, on written request and payment of the fee, to the people it lists, such as a person involved in the crash, that person's authorized representative, the owner of a damaged vehicle and the insurers involved. Any person may request a redacted version that leaves out names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal items.
How current is this data?
The City of Houston layer covers January 2018 to May 2024 and had not been edited since August 2024 when we checked. FARS covers 2019 to 2024; NHTSA had not posted a 2025 file. We downloaded both sources on 2026-10-30 and built the counts from them.

Sources

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