Hudson County has high rate of fatal crashes, with many at intersections
Hudson County is among the most dangerous counties in America for motorists driving through intersections, new data shows.
The county recorded 121 deaths in car crashes from 2017 to 2021, of which 64 happened at an intersection, according to research from Boston-based law firm Jason Stone Injury Lawyers. That 52.9% rate is the third-highest in the country, trailing only two New York City areas: Kings County, which is Brooklyn (60.2%), and New York County, which is Manhattan (56.7%).
The data includes all U.S. counties with at least 50 car crash deaths over the five-year span. Other regions appearing in the top 10 include another New York borough, Queens, as well as San Francisco, Denver, Milwaukee and Miami.
There have been four fatal crashes in Hudson County resulting in five deaths in 2024, according to state police data. The most recent and deadliest was a five-car crash in Kearny on March 16 that killed a Passaic school vice principal and her husband.
Hudson recorded 23 fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 25 people last year, while 17 victims were killed in 15 deadly crashes in 2022, according to the data.
County officials are looking to solve the problem by developing the Vision Zero Safety Action Plan with the help of a $480,000 grant. The plan involves analyzing existing conditions that lead to motor vehicle crashes and allows for community collaboration to reduce the frequency of such events.
The goal is for the plan to be complete by September, according to the Hudson County Vision Zero website.