Rock Hill Car Accident Statistics

Legally Reviewed by, Brent Stewart: June 17, 2026

The numbers behind traffic crashes in Rock Hill and York County are not just data points. They represent real people whose lives changed in seconds on roads they drive every day. Understanding what the official statistics actually show, where the most dangerous patterns exist, and what legal rights injury victims hold in South Carolina is the starting point for every decision that follows a serious crash.

At Stewart Law Offices, our injury team in Rock Hill is led by attorney Brent Stewart, a long-serving South Carolina Bar lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping York County residents after serious collisions and other acts of negligence.

Our firm has deep roots in the Rock Hill community and brings together experience, local insight, and financial resources to protect your interests, deal with insurers, and pursue the compensation you need to rebuild your life after a crash. If you were hurt in a Rock Hill area crash, our Rock Hill car accident lawyers are ready to stand with you. 

What Rock Hill Car Accident Statistics Show About Local Crash Trends

The most authoritative and current York County crash data comes directly from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, which tracks and publishes collision statistics by county for use in state highway safety planning. SCDPS data covering the five federal fiscal years from October 2020 through September 2025 recorded 31,724 total traffic collisions in York County. Those crashes resulted in 174 persons killed, 691 persons seriously injured, and 8,787 persons suffering other injuries. 

Breaking down that five‑year data by individual year reveals the following official figures. In the federal fiscal year October 2020 through September 2021, York County recorded 6,316 total collisions, 43 persons killed, 150 persons seriously injured, and 1,951 other injuries. 

In October 2023 through September 2024, the county recorded 6,490 total collisions, 28 persons killed, 182 persons seriously injured, and 1,651 other injuries. In the most recent year, October 2024 through September 2025, the county recorded 6,351 total collisions, 38 persons killed, 134 persons seriously injured, and 1,754 other injuries. 

The most recent year is particularly notable. While fatalities rose to 38, the number of persons seriously injured remained high at 134, underscoring that a significant share of crashes continue to produce life‑altering non‑fatal injuries across York County. 

Crash Victims by Age Group in York County

The SCDPS five‑year York County dataset also provides a breakdown of crash victims by age group, revealing which populations bear the greatest share of serious and fatal injuries on county dangerous roads. 

Over the five‑year period from October 2020 through September 2025, the 25 to 34 age group suffered the highest number of fatalities at 38 persons killed and the highest number of serious injuries at 150 persons seriously injured. The 35 to 44 group suffered the second‑highest fatality count at 23 and the second‑highest serious injury count at 112. Young adults aged 20 to 24 suffered 19 fatalities and 68 serious injuries. Teens aged 15 to 19 suffered 8 fatalities and 59 serious injuries. Children under 15 suffered a combined 9 fatalities and 43 serious injuries, representing the most heartbreaking component of York County’s five‑year crash record. 

Older adults were also significantly affected. The 45 to 54 group suffered 29 fatalities and 91 serious injuries. The 55 to 64 group suffered 18 fatalities and 90 serious injuries. Adults aged 65 to 74 suffered 20 fatalities and 49 serious injuries. Adults 75 and older suffered 10 fatalities and 22 serious injuries. 

Rock Hill in the Context of South Carolina’s Statewide Numbers

To understand what Rock Hill car accident statistics mean, it helps to see them against the backdrop of South Carolina’s overall traffic safety record.

The SCDPS 2023 Traffic Collision Fact Book recorded 145,761 total traffic collisions statewide in 2023, resulting in 1,047 deaths. On average, that translates to one collision every 3.6 minutes and one fatal collision every 8.4 hours statewide. 

NHTSA confirmed that South Carolina had a traffic fatality rate of 1.72 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2023, the third-highest fatality rate in the nation behind only Mississippi and Arizona. 

York County’s 6,328 crashes in 2023 against a statewide total of 145,761 represents approximately 4.3 percent of all South Carolina crashes occurring in a single county, despite York County accounting for less than that share of the state’s total land area. The combination of rapid population growth, high commuter volume from Charlotte, and increasing commercial development throughout the county contributes to this disproportionate share of the state’s crash burden. 

Factors Driving High Crash Rates in Rock Hill and York County

The high crash volume in Rock Hill and across York County is not random. Several specific and well-documented factors combine to make the county’s roads more dangerous than the statewide average.

• Rapid population growth. York County is among South Carolina’s fastest-growing counties. The expansion of residential communities around Fort Mill, Tega Cay, and Rock Hill has increased daily vehicle miles traveled on roads that were not always built to handle the new volume.
• Charlotte commuter traffic. York County sits directly south of Charlotte, North Carolina. A large share of the county’s employed residents commute north on I-77 daily, creating sustained high-density freeway traffic during morning and evening peak hours that concentrates crash risk during predictable time windows.
• High-volume commercial corridors. Roads like Dave Lyle Boulevard, Cherry Road, Celanese Road, SC-160, and US-21 concentrate commercial vehicle traffic, retail traffic, and pedestrian activity in mixed-use corridors that generate frequent intersection conflicts and turning movement crashes.
• US-21 as a documented high-crash roadway. Available data identifies US-21, the primary north-south arterial through Rock Hill connecting to Fort Mill and the Charlotte metro area, as one of the busiest and most collision-prone roadways in the county.
• Distracted and impaired Distracted driving. Driver error is documented as the cause of more than 82 percent of fatal collisions in South Carolina according to SCDPS data. Distracted driving and driving under the influence remain the leading specific behavioral contributors to serious crashes in the county.

What These Statistics Mean for Your Legal Rights

Every statistic on this page represents a person who was hurt, a family that was changed, and in the worst cases, a life that was lost. The data also represents the legal responsibility that falls on the drivers, companies, and other parties whose negligence produced those crashes.

South Carolina law allows car accident victims to pursue compensation for all economic and non-economic losses a negligent party caused. Economic losses include all past and future medical expenses, lost wages, reduced future earning capacity, and property damage. Non-economic losses cover physical pain, emotional distress, permanent scarring and disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.

The statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of the crash under SC Code Section 15-3-530. Missing this deadline permanently eliminates the right to compensation regardless of how clear the other driver’s fault may be.

Stewart Law Offices represents car accident victims throughout Rock Hill and York County on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.