Twenty-nine people died in traffic crashes in Knoxville in 2025, nearly a 45-percent decrease from 2024, when 52 fatalities were recorded.

The 29 fatalities mark the lowest number of traffic-related deaths on roads within Knoxville city limits since 2020.  

“While 29 traffic deaths are still far too many, I am encouraged by the strides that we made as a city in 2025,” Chief Paul Noel said. “Traffic safety is a top priority for our department, and I am proud of the collaborative and intentional efforts to reduce traffic fatalities. As we move into 2026, we are going to continue to rely on data to inform our traffic enforcement and education initiatives and lean on our partners make our roads as safe as possible.”  

“Seeing this significant drop in deadly accidents is evidence that our public safety efforts from both KPD and Vision Zero are working,” said Mayor Indya Kincannon. “People deserve to feel safe as they navigate our city, and we will continue to look for ways to make our streets even safer in this new year.”

Of the 29 traffic fatalities that happened in 2025, eight were riding motorcycles and six were pedestrians, down from 11 in both 2024 and 2023. Additionally, one bicyclist was killed in a crash.  

Five of the 29 fatal crashes in 2025 occurred on the interstate. Six crashes happened on North Broadway, while two occurred on Western Avenue and Chapman Highway.

The primary factors that contributed to fatal crashes in 2025 were failure to yield or failure to keep in the proper lane, general inattentiveness, intoxication and speeding. In at least seven of the 2025 traffic fatalities, the victim was not believed to be wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.