What Chicago’s crash records show for 2025: fewer deaths and serious injuries, more cyclist crashes

These numbers describe what police recorded. They do not show how safe a street, a driver or a mode of travel is. The city’s data has no traffic counts, so it cannot show risk per trip.

1. Deaths and serious injuries fell in 2025

The City of Chicago’s crash records list 123 fatal injuries in 2024 and 93 in 2025 on city streets. The city’s separate Vision Zero fatality records list 130 deaths in 2024 and 101 in 2025. The two sources use different definitions, and neither is a count of every death on every road in the Chicago area.

Both sources show 2025 as the lowest year since the data begin in 2019.

Crashes with a fatal or incapacitating injury follow the same direction: 2,113 in 2019, a high of 2,187 in 2021, 1,739 in 2024 and 1,573 in 2025. That is 9.5% fewer than in 2024 and 25.6% fewer than in 2019.

“Any injury” includes possible injuries that were reported but not evident at the scene. About 215 to 295 crash rows each year have no injury figures and are not counted as injury crashes. Recent records can change as reports are finalized.

What the data cannot show: why the numbers fell. The records do not measure traffic volume, enforcement, street design or weather.

“Fewer people were killed on Chicago’s streets in 2025 than in 2024. That is good news. But every number in these records is a person, and the count is still far too high.”

2. When injury crashes happen

From 2019 through 2025 police recorded 115,958 injury crashes. They peak in the afternoon commute and are lowest before dawn.

• The busiest hour was 5 p.m. to 5:59 p.m. (8,650 injury crashes). The next busiest hours were 4 p.m. (8,400) and 3 p.m. (8,363).
• The three hours from 3 p.m. to 5:59 p.m. hold 21.9% of all injury crashes.
• The quietest hour was 4 a.m. (1,698).
• By weekday, Friday had the most (18,145) and Monday the fewest (15,483).
• The single busiest weekday-hour was Thursday at 5 p.m. (1,426), followed by Friday at 4 p.m. (1,405) and Friday at 3 p.m. (1,385).

By month (2023–2025 combined) August had the most injury crashes (5,211), then July (4,968), October (4,962) and May (4,922). February had the fewest (3,409), then January (3,529). In 2025, August was the busiest month (1,928).

“The records show the most injury crashes between 3 and 6 p.m. If you drive at that hour, give yourself more space and more time. A few seconds of patience costs far less than a crash.”

3. What police coded as the main cause

Officers code a primary contributory cause for each crash. Among the 17,902 injury crashes of 2025:

• Failing to yield the right of way was the top coded cause: 3,766 crashes (21.0%).
• Following too closely: 1,314. Failing to reduce speed to avoid a crash: 1,224. Disregarding traffic signals: 968. Improper turning or no signal: 724.
• 5,555 crashes (31.0%) were coded “unable to determine” and 633 “not applicable”.

These are an officer’s coding at the scene. They are not findings of legal fault.

4. People walking and biking

These counts use the first type of collision recorded. They do not count every crash that involved a person walking or biking.

• Pedestrian crashes fell from 3,073 in 2024 to 2,918 in 2025. They were lower in 2020 to 2022.
• Bicycle crashes rose 7.2%, from 2,301 to 2,466. That is the highest of 2019 to 2025. The count for 2026 through October 11 is already 2,230 (a partial year).
• In 2025, 87.8% of pedestrian crashes and 71.9% of bicycle crashes recorded an injury. For all recorded crashes the share was 16.4%.

“When a crash involves someone walking or biking, an injury is far more likely. In the 2025 records, 88% of pedestrian crashes and 72% of bicycle crashes involved an injury. If you drive in Chicago, look twice at crosswalks and bike lanes, every time.”

5. Darkness

Of 85 fatal crashes in 2025, 53 (62.4%) happened in darkness (47 on lighted roads and 6 on unlit roads). Of 17,902 injury crashes, 5,423 (30.3%) did. For pedestrian crashes the darkness share was 27.7%; for bicycle crashes, 16.8%.

The data have no information on how many people use the roads after dark, so they cannot show that darkness is riskier per trip. They show that deaths cluster in darkness more than injuries do.

“More than six in ten fatal crashes in 2025 happened in the dark. The records cannot tell us why. The pattern is still clear enough to act on: slow down after sunset, and if you walk or bike at night, wear something that lights up or reflects.”

6. What to do after a crash in Illinois

1. Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Get medical care, even if you feel fine.
2. Report the crash to police and ask for the report number.
3. Photograph the scene, vehicles, injuries and any traffic cameras nearby.
4. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer before you speak with a lawyer.
5. Keep your medical records and bills.

“If you are hurt in a crash, do not wait. Get medical care, report the crash, and talk to a lawyer before you speak with the other driver’s insurance company. Deadlines can be shorter than people expect, especially when a city agency or the CTA is involved.”

7. Illinois deadlines at a glance

• Personal injury lawsuit: usually 2 years from the crash (735 ILCS 5/13-202).
• Property damage lawsuit: usually 5 years (735 ILCS 5/13-205).
• Wrongful death lawsuit: usually 2 years from the date of death (740 ILCS 180/2).
• Claims against the City of Chicago or another local government: a lawsuit usually must be filed within 1 year (745 ILCS 10/8-101).
• Claims against the CTA: a lawsuit usually must be filed within 1 year (70 ILCS 3605/41).

Exceptions can shorten or extend these deadlines. This is general information, not legal advice for your crash. See our Chicago car accident lawyer page.

8. About the data (methodology and limits)

• Sources: City of Chicago Data Portal, “Traffic Crashes – Crashes” (dataset 85ca-t3if) and “Traffic Crashes – Vision Zero Chicago Traffic Fatalities” (dataset gzaz-isa6). Data pulled October 11, 2026 (U.S. Central). Records through October 11, 2026 for crashes; Vision Zero records through July 29, 2026. 2026 is a partial year.
• The crash records come from Chicago Police Department reports on city streets. Most interstate and expressway-ramp crashes are not included. About half of reports are written by drivers at a police district; the rest by officers at the scene. Reports are added when finalized, so recent months are incomplete and old records can change.
• “Crash with any injury” means the record shows at least one injury, including possible injuries not evident at the scene. “Fatal or incapacitating” means at least one fatal or incapacitating injury. Records with no injury figures are excluded from injury counts.
• The Vision Zero fatality file follows the city’s own review and inclusion rules and is updated monthly. It has missing and repeated person IDs; we counted its rows without removing any. Its totals differ from the crash records. We make no claim about which is “correct”.
• Police-coded causes are not findings of fault.
• No traffic-volume, population or exposure data were used. The counts do not show risk per trip, per mile or per person.
• The analysis code and every table are reproduced and independently re-checked.
• Questions or corrections: contact us.

Download the tables

Aggregated tables only (CSV), a data dictionary and a methods file. No row-level crash data. Source: City of Chicago Data Portal. The tables are the firm’s own aggregations.

Download Chicago crash tables (ZIP)