These ‘high risk’ Charlotte roads top city’s list of crash-prone spots
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City data identify seven streets where the most serious and fatal accidents occur.
- Most of the hot spots are in north and west Charlotte.
- 80% of serious and fatal crashes across the city occur on just 13% of streets.
Seven streets — mostly in north and west Charlotte — top the city’s list of high-risk spots prone to crashes, according to city data.
The city tracks every life-altering collision on an interactive map called the high injury network, which helps officials prioritize infrastructure projects in corridors that need them most. Charlotte committed to an international initiative in 2019 called Vision Zero that’s intended to eliminate traffic deaths but has proven unsuccessful thus far.
The City Council flagged serious collisions as an unacceptable “safety emergency” during a meeting in January and plans to discuss the issue at future meetings.
The fiscal year that ran from July 2024 through June 2025 saw an uptick in serious collisions with 81 deaths and 111 serious injuries. The latest version of the publicly accessible high injury network map includes crashes from 2019 through 2023. It’s unclear how or whether the hot spots would change with crashes trending up.
The high injury network scores sections of roadway where fatal or serious crashes occur. Crashes that occur within a half mile of one another are considered to be on the same section.
These are the seven streets with the highest scores on the high injury network:
- Wilkinson Boulevard between Billy Graham Parkway and Morris Field Drive, near the airport: three serious injuries and four fatalities
- Old Statesville Road between Statesville Road and Gibbon Road, in north Charlotte: four serious injuries and three fatalities
- West Boulevard between Walton Road and a little past the intersection with Remount Road, in west Charlotte: two serious injuries and four fatalities
- North Tryon Street between Lambeth Drive and a little past the intersection with Dorton Street, just northeast of Noda: One serious injury and four fatalities
- East Mallard Creek Church Road between North Tryon Street and Mary Alexander Road, near UNC Charlotte: One serious injury and four fatalities
- Beatties Ford Road between Gilbert Street and a little past Lasalle Street, near West Charlotte High School: five serious injuries and two fatalities
- North Tryon Street between Brookside Lane and Periwinkle Hill Avenue, in University City: two serious injuries and three fatalities
Crashes on the high injury network followed the familiar crescent-and-wedge pattern: Most severe collisions were concentrated in the northern, eastern and western “crescent” of the city, while the southern “wedge” saw fewer and less severe crashes.
The crescent has historically experienced less investment and worse infrastructure than the predominantly whiter, wealthier wedge.
Scores reflect the number and severity of crashes. Higher weights are given to fatal crashes, followed by serious injuries to pedestrians or bicyclists, and then serious vehicular injury crashes. Scores do not account for other factors such as traffic volume or street design, meaning heavily traveled roads might rank higher because more people use them.
Interstates, controlled-access highways, private property and railroads that are not directly at an intersection with a street are excluded, the city told The Charlotte Observer in an email.
The high injury network represents only 13% of all Charlotte streets yet 80% of serious and fatal crashes, according to a recent report from the Charlotte Department of Transportation.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 11:17 AM.
