Washington Crash Hot Spots: The Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections

Where Washington Traffic Deaths Happen

Washington lost 659 people on its roads in 2025, by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s preliminary count. That’s the second straight year of decline, and well below the 809 deaths in 2023, the state’s worst year in 33 years. Pedestrian deaths eased to 148, close to the record 160 set in 2023. The road-type numbers from 2024 tell you where to pay attention: state routes and city streets each see more than twice as many fatal crashes as the interstates.

The road-type rows come from WTSC’s table of fatal crashes, which counts crashes rather than people. By that same count, King County had 140 fatal crashes in 2024, the most of any county, followed by Pierce County with 94 (preliminary). Add the 59 fatal crashes on U.S. highways, and state and U.S. routes outside the interstates had 251 fatal crashes in 2024, more than three times the interstate count. Washington’s Target Zero plan sets the goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

Washington’s High-Risk Corridors, Road by Road

The same handful of Washington roads keep turning up in crash coverage. Here’s what makes each one tricky, with published figures from WSDOT, WTSC and local planners where they exist.

1. Interstate 5: Vancouver to Blaine

I-5 runs the full length of western Washington, from the Interstate Bridge at Vancouver through Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle and Everett to the Canadian border at Blaine. The worst of it tends to happen at interchanges like SR 16 in Tacoma’s Nalley Valley, SR 18 in Federal Way and the tight merges around NE 175th Street in Shoreline.

Across the state, WTSC counted 78 fatal crashes on interstates in 2024, well under half the 192 on state routes. At the south end, the Interstate Bridge Replacement program’s 2021 fact sheet says its stretch of I-5 has crash rates more than three times the statewide average for comparable highways.

2. SR 99: Aurora Avenue North and Pacific Highway South

SR 99 is the old north-south highway that I-5 replaced, and in a lot of places it still drives like one: wide, fast and lined with driveways, motels and bus stops. In Seattle it’s Aurora Avenue North, which runs about 7.6 miles from the north end of the SR 99 tunnel near Roy Street to the city limit at N 145th Street. SDOT’s Aurora corridor study found Aurora accounted for 19% of all Seattle traffic deaths from 2018 to 2022. Pedestrians were involved in just 6% of crashes there but made up 70% of the people killed.

South of Seattle the same highway becomes International Boulevard through Tukwila and SeaTac, then Pacific Highway South through Des Moines, Kent and Federal Way. To the north, in Snohomish County, WSDOT’s SR 99 study counted 43 people killed or seriously injured from 2019 to 2023 on the 3.1 miles between Airport Road and 164th Street SW. That’s about twice the per-mile rate of the next stretch south through Lynnwood.

3. Rainier Avenue South and MLK Jr. Way South: Seattle’s Rainier Valley

Rainier Avenue South cuts southeast from near downtown through Mount Baker, Columbia City, Hillman City and Rainier Beach toward Renton. MLK Jr. Way South runs roughly parallel, with Link light rail in its median through much of the valley, and the two streets meet near Mount Baker station. Both carry heavy bus, foot and bike traffic, and drivers tend to treat the open stretches like a highway.

The city has called Rainier “historically one of Seattle’s highest crash corridors,” and in 2017 SDOT counted nearly 3,600 collisions on Rainier over the previous 10 years. After a 2015 redesign cut a one-mile stretch through Columbia City and Hillman City from four lanes to three, SDOT reported a full year there with no fatal or serious-injury crashes. Both streets are priority corridors on Seattle’s High Injury Network.

4. Interstate 405 and the Eastside: Tukwila to Lynnwood

I-405 loops around the east side of Lake Washington, from I-5 in Tukwila through Renton, Bellevue, Kirkland and Bothell, then back to I-5 near Lynnwood. At NE 8th Street in Bellevue and NE 124th Street in Kirkland’s Totem Lake area, short ramps and last-second lane changes lead to sideswipes and rear-enders.

The highways feeding it have their own trouble spots: SR 520 past the 92nd Avenue NE interchange in Clyde Hill, and SR 522 through downtown Bothell, where it meets Bothell Way, the old SR 527 route north toward Everett. Rush-hour backups on all three spill onto local streets fast.

5. SR 509: Port of Tacoma to South Seattle

SR 509 starts at I-705 in downtown Tacoma, crosses the Port of Tacoma as a divided highway, and follows Marine View Drive through Northeast Tacoma and Dash Point. It winds north through Federal Way, Des Moines and Normandy Park, becomes a freeway near South 188th Street in SeaTac, and runs past Burien and the South 112th Street interchange to SR 99 in south Seattle. Port trucks, dark curves on Marine View Drive and airport traffic all share it.

WSDOT is finishing the missing link. Its SR 509 Completion Project builds more than two miles of new expressway connecting SR 509 to I-5 in SeaTac, with the final stage expected to open in 2028.

6. U.S. 2: Everett to Stevens Pass

U.S. 2 leaves I-5 in Everett and heads east through Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar and the turnoff for Index on its way over Stevens Pass. East of Monroe it’s mostly one lane each way, so impatient passing, head-on crashes and winter ski traffic are the big worries.

WSDOT scheduled safety work at 11 locations on 15 miles of U.S. 2, between Fryelands Boulevard in Monroe and First Street in Gold Bar, to start October 5, 2026, beginning with a roundabout at Old Owen Road in Sultan. The project page adds a rumble strip and new no-passing zones between Monroe and Sultan to cut crossover and passing-related crashes. It’s scheduled to wrap up at the end of 2027.

7. Interstate 90 and Division Street: Spokane

In Spokane, I-90 runs right through downtown and on through Spokane Valley to the Idaho line. Division Street, which carries U.S. 2 and U.S. 395 north from I-90, is the city’s main north-south arterial, lined with shopping centers and driveways for miles.

The Spokane Regional Transportation Council’s regional safety action plan ranked Division between Cozza Drive and Francis Avenue as the top-scoring City of Spokane corridor on its high injury network, with 75 crashes, 4 of them fatal or serious, from 2018 to 2022 on less than half a mile. The plan’s crash maps leave out I-90 and its ramps. Spokane County as a whole had 52 fatal crashes in 2024, per WTSC.

More High-Crash Locations Across Washington

The highways aren’t the whole picture. Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane and Vancouver have all mapped where their worst crashes happen, and these are the streets and intersections with published figures.

Several of these streets are getting work. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s August 2026 executive order speeds up projects on High Injury Network corridors including Aurora, Rainier and MLK, with safety fixes at 19 high-collision locations and head-start walk signals at 40 intersections. Tacoma won a 2023 grant to plan and design a safer Portland Avenue, and Vancouver got about $5.7 million in federal Safe Streets and Roads for All money in 2023 for Fourth Plain, including pedestrian hybrid beacons, refuge islands and sidewalk infill.

How to Stay Safe on Washington’s Most Dangerous Roads

Nobody’s saying skip these roads. Just drive them knowing where the trouble is.

For Drivers:

1. Watch your speed: A speeding driver was involved in 189 Washington traffic deaths in 2025. Keep to the limit on I-5 and I-405, and slow down more in rain or heavy traffic.
2. Pick your lane early: The I-5 and SR 16 interchange in Tacoma and the I-405 ramps in Bellevue reward drivers who know their exit a mile ahead.
3. Pass only where it’s legal: On two-lane stretches of U.S. 2 east of Monroe, wait for a passing zone.
4. Look for people on foot along SR 99: On Aurora Avenue and Pacific Highway South, pedestrians cross wide roads at night far from signals.
5. Put the phone down: WTSC counted 103 deaths involving a distracted driver in 2025.

For Pedestrians:

1. Cross at signals and marked crosswalks: On multi-lane streets like Aurora Avenue, Rainier Avenue and Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, crossing mid-block gives drivers almost no time to stop.
2. Be visible at night: Wear something bright or reflective in the dark, rainy months.
3. Make eye contact: Don’t assume a turning driver has seen you.

For Cyclists:

1. Use protected lanes and trails: Where you can, ride on separated bike lanes and paths like the Burke-Gilman Trail in Seattle or the Centennial Trail in Spokane.
2. Light up: Run front and rear lights, even in daytime during the gray months.
3. Watch turning traffic: At big intersections, turning drivers often don’t see cyclists. Never assume they’ll yield.

General Tips:

1. Check WSDOT before you go: The WSDOT app and traffic maps show crashes, closures and pass conditions in real time.
2. Plan around construction: Work zones on I-5, SR 509 and U.S. 2 change lane patterns often.
3. Never drive impaired: In WTSC’s preliminary 2025 data, alcohol was the most common impairing drug, found in 57% of impaired drivers.

What to Do If You’re Injured in a Washington Car Accident

A crash on I-5, Aurora Avenue or U.S. 2 can leave you hurt, rattled and unsure what comes next. What you do in the first hours and days matters for your health and for your insurance claim.

1. Call 911. Even if nobody seems badly hurt, get police to the scene so there’s an official crash report, which insurers rely on. If anyone is seriously injured, ask for an ambulance.
2. Get checked out. Concussions, whiplash and internal injuries don’t always show up right away. Get seen at the ER or urgent care.
3. Document the scene if it’s safe. Photograph the vehicles, damage and license plates. Get witnesses’ names and phone numbers, and exchange insurance information without admitting fault.
4. Be careful with adjusters. The other driver’s insurer may call quickly. You can politely decline a recorded statement until you have your crash report.
5. Keep everything. Medical records, bills, repair estimates, proof of missed work and every letter or email from an insurer.

Which agency has your report depends on where you crashed. The Washington State Patrol handles crashes on interstates and state highways, while city police or the county sheriff’s office handle local streets and roads. Our Washington crash report guide explains how to request a copy from each.

Don’t know which agency took the report, or just don’t want to chase it down? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.

Washington Crash Hot Spot Questions

More Washington Crash Guides

County accident news: King County · Pierce County · Spokane County · Snohomish County · Thurston County · Benton County · Franklin County · Cowlitz County

Nearby states: Oregon crash hot spots · Idaho crash hot spots

For the latest, crashes from around the state are posted in Washington accident news and our recent accident alerts.