The Most Dangerous Roads in Contra Costa County
Scranton Law Firm analyzed every fatal traffic crash in Contra Costa County recorded by the federal government from 2019 through 2024. The data shows where deadly crashes happen most often, which roads carry the highest fatality burden, and when local drivers face the greatest risk.
Key Findings
Five numbers that define six years of fatal crashes in Contra Costa County.
509 people died in 469 fatal crashes on Contra Costa County roads from 2019 through 2024, averaging about 85 traffic deaths per year.
Highway 4 is the county’s deadliest road by far, with 88 deaths in six years. That is more than Interstate 680 and Highway 24 combined.
The Highway 4 corridor through Antioch and Pittsburg had the densest fatal-crash clusters in the county.
50% of fatal crashes happened at night between 8pm and 5am.
52% happened Friday through Sunday, with Saturday, Sunday, and Friday ranking as the deadliest days.
The Deadliest Roads in Contra Costa County
Ranked by traffic deaths recorded in the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2019-2024.
Full ranking
| Rank | Road | Fatal Crashes | Muertes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Highway 4 (SR-4) | 78 | 88 |
| 2 | I-80 | 47 | 55 |
| 3 | I-680 | 29 | 33 |
| 4 | Highway 24 (SR-24) | 18 | 22 |
| 5 | I-580 | 13 | 14 |
| 6 | San Pablo Ave (SR-123) | 13 | 13 |
| 7 | Lone Tree Way | 8 | 11 |
| 8 | Richmond Parkway | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | Kirker Pass Rd | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | SR-242 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | San Pablo Dam Rd | 9 | 9 |
Highway 4 recorded 78 fatal crashes and 88 deaths over six years, making it the single deadliest road in Contra Costa County. Fatal crashes concentrate most heavily through East County, especially around Antioch and Pittsburg.
Dangerous Corridors and Hotspots
The data points to several recurring fatal-crash corridors rather than one isolated intersection.
Highway 4 through Antioch and Pittsburg
The county’s strongest fatal-crash cluster.
Interstate 80 through Richmond
The second-deadliest corridor by traffic deaths.
Richmond surface streets around Barrett Avenue and 23rd Street
One of the top surface-street fatal-crash clusters.
Top fatal-crash coordinate clusters
Fatal crashes per cluster on a 10-crash scale.
Hotspots are approximate coordinate clusters rounded to about 0.01 degrees. They should be read as corridors or areas, not exact intersection counts.
When Contra Costa Roads Turn Deadly
Fatal crashes are not evenly distributed across the week or the clock. Night and weekend patterns stand out sharply.
Fatal crashes by year
| Year | Fatal Crashes | Muertes |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 69 | 77 |
| 2020 | 95 | 104 |
| 2021 | 90 | 95 |
| 2022 | 64 | 69 |
| 2023 | 87 | 98 |
| 2024 | 64 | 66 |
2020 was the deadliest year in the period, with 104 deaths.
Deadliest hours
Late-night crashes peak around 1:00 a.m.
Deadliest days
Friday through Sunday account for 52% of fatal crashes.
Deadliest months
A seasonal snapshot of all 469 fatal crashes.
- October5311.3%
- July439.2%
- December439.2%
- February429.0%
- June408.5%
- All other months24852.9%
Pedestrians Are Paying a Heavy Price
More than 1 in 5 fatal crashes in Contra Costa County killed a pedestrian. Pedestrian deaths are especially important because they often happen on surface arterials where fast vehicle traffic mixes with people walking to homes, stores, transit stops, and schools.
Methodology
This report analyzes every fatal traffic crash in Contra Costa County recorded in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System from 2019 through 2024. FARS is a complete census of fatal motor-vehicle crashes, not a sample. The analysis filters national FARS accident files to California state code 06 and Contra Costa County code 013, then groups crashes by primary roadway name and maps crashes by reported GPS coordinates.
Data for 2019 through 2023 is final. The 2024 data is NHTSA’s most recent release and may revise as late-reported cases are added. This analysis covers fatal crashes only. Total injury crashes may show different risk patterns and would require a separate SWITRS/TIMS injury-crash analysis.
Data source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2019-2024. Analysis by Scranton Law Firm.
For Media and Researchers
Members of the media, public agencies, and researchers may cite or republish the findings in this report with attribution. Suggested citation:
Scranton Law Firm. "The Most Dangerous Roads in Contra Costa County: 2026 Data Report." Analysis of NHTSA FARS data, 2019-2024. https://scrantonlawfirm.com/contra-costa-dangerous-roads/
Questions about the data or requests for the underlying figures: comunicarse con nosotros.
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