Luzerne, Lackawanna & Dauphin County Crash Statistics, 2020–2024
Five years of PennDOT data for the three counties we serve — how many crashes, how many people hurt, how many killed, and how each county compares with Pennsylvania as a whole. Updated August 2026 from the 2024 Pennsylvania Crash Facts & Statistics report.
The headline numbers for 2024
Pennsylvania recorded 110,765 reportable crashes in 2024, injuring 66,931 people and killing 1,127 — the second-lowest death toll since record-keeping began in 1928. Our three counties accounted for 8,392 of those crashes and 64 of the deaths.
| County (2024) | Population | Crashes | Injury crashes | Property-damage only | Deaths | Crashes per 1,000 residents | Deaths per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne | 331,379 | 3,224 | 1,404 | 1,802 | 18 | 9.7 | 5.4 |
| Lackawanna | 216,859 | 2,259 | 1,018 | 1,225 | 20 | 10.4 | 9.2 |
| Dauphin | 293,029 | 2,909 | 1,259 | 1,624 | 26 | 9.9 | 8.9 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,078,751 | 110,765 | 48,780 | 60,925 | 1,127 | 8.5 | 8.6 |
All three counties crash more often per resident than the state average. Lackawanna County — Scranton and its suburbs — has the highest crash rate of the three and a fatality rate above the state's, despite having the smallest population. Luzerne County had its safest year in the five-year series: 18 deaths, half the 2023 figure.
Reportable crashes by year
| County | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 5-yr avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne | 2,956 | 3,377 | 3,347 | 3,204 | 3,224 | 3,222 |
| Lackawanna | 2,119 | 2,459 | 2,359 | 2,307 | 2,259 | 2,301 |
| Dauphin | 2,531 | 2,958 | 2,805 | 2,761 | 2,909 | 2,793 |
| Pennsylvania | 104,475 | 117,899 | 115,938 | 110,382 | 110,765 | 111,892 |
2020 is the pandemic low point everywhere. Crashes rebounded sharply in 2021 and have settled at roughly 3,200 a year in Luzerne County — about nine every day — 2,300 in Lackawanna and 2,800–2,900 in Dauphin. A "reportable" crash is one involving an injury or death, or a vehicle damaged badly enough to need towing; fender-benders that drive away are not counted, so the true number of collisions is higher.
Traffic deaths by year
| County | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 5-yr total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne | 35 | 41 | 33 | 36 | 18 | 163 |
| Lackawanna | 22 | 19 | 22 | 18 | 20 | 101 |
| Dauphin | 20 | 41 | 30 | 35 | 26 | 152 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,129 | 1,230 | 1,179 | 1,209 | 1,127 | 5,874 |
416 people died on the roads of these three counties in five years. County-level death counts swing year to year because the numbers are small — a single multi-fatality crash on I-81 moves the figure — which is why the five-year total is the more honest measure of risk.
People injured, statewide
| Year | Crashes | People injured | People killed | Injured per crash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 104,475 | 61,248 | 1,129 | 0.59 |
| 2021 | 117,899 | 69,607 | 1,230 | 0.59 |
| 2022 | 115,938 | 67,030 | 1,179 | 0.58 |
| 2023 | 110,382 | 66,549 | 1,209 | 0.60 |
| 2024 | 110,765 | 66,931 | 1,127 | 0.60 |
PennDOT publishes injured-person counts statewide but not by county. Applying the statewide ratio of roughly 0.6 injuries per reportable crash, Luzerne County's 3,224 crashes in 2024 imply on the order of 1,900 people injured, Lackawanna's about 1,350 and Dauphin's about 1,750 — estimates, not published figures.
What the numbers mean if you were in one of these crashes
- Roughly 44% of reportable crashes in each county involve an injury. If yours did, Pennsylvania gives you two years from the crash to file a claim — but insurers begin building their file the same day.
- Whether you can claim pain and suffering depends on the full tort / limited tort election on your own auto policy, not the other driver's. Most limited-tort drivers can still recover for a "serious injury," and the election never applies to motorcyclists or pedestrians.
- A police crash report costs $22 through PennDOT's online request system and takes 5–15 days. We obtain it for every client at no charge. See where to report a crash in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton or Harrisburg.
Questions about a crash in one of these counties? (877) 888-4777, any hour — free consultation, no fee unless we recover for you.
Sources and method
All figures are from PennDOT, 2024 Pennsylvania Crash Facts & Statistics (county tables: crashes and fatalities by county 2020–2024; 2024 crashes by severity and county; statewide summary). Population figures are PennDOT's county estimates used in the same report. Per-capita rates are our calculation from those two columns. Estimated county injury counts apply the statewide injuries-per-crash ratio and are labeled as estimates. This page is republished free for journalists, researchers and community groups with attribution to PennDOT and a link to this page.