Marion County has higher pedestrian and vehicular fatality rates than most of Florida

At least 67 individuals, including 16 pedestrians, have died on Marion County roadways through October, with the area recording the 12th most fatalities and some of the highest pedestrian and vehicular fatality rates among Florida’s 67 counties.

According to a review by Ocala-News.com of the most recent vehicular accident data available through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there have been 5,173 total accidents, including 106 bicycle crashes, 180 motorcycle crashes, and 109 pedestrian crashes on local roadways through October 30, 2025.

Those accidents have produced approximately 4,298 injuries and 67 fatalities, including four bicycle fatalities, 20 motorcycle fatalities, and 16 pedestrian fatalities. The county has also experienced at least four hit-and-run fatalities.

The 67 total fatalities through October is the 12th most among the state’s counties 67. It ranks just behind Brevard County (68) and just above Pasco County (65).

Despite the similar number of fatalities, both of aforementioned counties have approximately 50% more residents than Marion County.

The state’s counties vary greatly in population, with as few as 8,139 residents in Liberty County to as many as 2.9 million in Miami-Dade.

In general, larger counties tend to produce more fatal accidents due to a higher preponderance of individuals driving.

Accordingly, Ocala-News.com converted population and fatality figures into rates to make comparisons across the differently-sized counties.

When viewed through that lens, it is clear that many of the counties with higher fatality rates than Marion County are significantly smaller in size. Conversely, counties with similar or larger populations to Marion County’s had significantly lower fatality rates.

In fact, among the state’s largest counties (i.e., those with at least 100,000 residents), Marion’s pedestrian fatality rate ranks second, trailing only Hernando. The county’s vehicular fatality rate ranks fifth, trailing Escambia, Sumter, Hernando, and Highlands counties.

Despite the relatively high number of vehicular fatalities throughout the area this year, Marion County has actually experienced nearly 50 fewer vehicular fatalities in 2025 than it did in 2024, when approximately 115 individuals lost their lives on local roadways.

To read the complete data table, see below.

Vehicular Fatalities in Florida Counties through October 30, 2025 (Data: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles)

Rank	County	Vehicular Fatalities	Pedestrian Fatalities	Population	Pedestrian Fatality Rate (Fatalities per 100,000 residents)	Vehicular Fatality Rate (Fatalities per 100,000 residents)
1	Miami-Dade	210	61	2,902,672	2.10	7.23
2	Broward	176	45	2,072,158	2.17	8.49
3	Duval	134	27	1,071,485	2.52	12.51
4	Hillsborough	128	36	1,605,539	2.24	7.97
5	Orange	121	29	1,566,027	1.85	7.73
6	Palm Beach County	118	24	1,606,629	1.49	7.34
7	Lee	90	10	877,692	1.14	10.25
8	Volusia	85	22	612,922	3.59	13.87
9	Polk	78	12	881,584	1.36	8.85
10	Pinellas	71	22	964,439	2.28	7.36
11	Brevard	68	12	670,189	1.79	10.15
12	Marion	67	16	445,472	3.59	15.04
13	Pasco County	65	8	682,179	1.17	9.53
14	Lake County	58	9	461,626	1.95	12.56
15	Escambia County	51	10	334,516	2.99	15.25
16	Osceola County	46	10	488,873	2.05	9.41
17	Hernando County	38	9	222,885	4.04	17.05
18	Manatee County	37	13	472,247	2.75	7.83
19	St. Lucie County	36	4	405,154	0.99	8.89
20	Alachua County	36	5	294,602	1.70	12.22
21	Sarasota County	27	9	481,129	1.87	5.61
22	Sumter County	25	1	157,229	0.64	15.90
23	Seminole County	23	5	499,956	1.00	4.60
24	St. Johns County	23	3	348,346	0.86	6.60
25	Columbia County	22	5	74,630	6.70	29.48
26	Collier County	21	4	422,401	0.95	4.97
27	Leon County	20	5	301,952	1.66	6.62
28	Citrus County	20	4	173,512	2.31	11.53
29	Martin County	20	2	167,091	1.20	11.97
30	Highlands County	20	3	111,405	2.69	17.95
31	Okaloosa County	19	0	221,342	0.00	8.58
32	Bay County	19	6	207,014	2.90	9.18
33	Clay County	18	4	240,786	1.66	7.48
34	Indian River County	18	3	173,791	1.73	10.36
35	Flagler County	18	1	141,596	0.71	12.71
36	Putnam County	18	2	78,391	2.55	22.96
37	Levy County	18	0	48,865	0.00	36.84
38	Charlotte County	17	3	217,159	1.38	7.83
39	Walton County	17	1	92,994	1.08	18.28
40	Suwannee County	17	1	48,938	2.04	34.74
41	Nassau County	15	2	107,173	1.87	14.00
42	Santa Rosa County	13	0	211,737	0.00	6.14
43	Jackson County	13	0	51,229	0.00	25.38
44	Gadsden County	13	4	44,202	9.05	29.41
45	Monroe County	12	3	80,510	3.73	14.90
46	Okeechobee County	10	1	43,135	2.32	23.18
47	Hamilton County	10	2	14,947	13.38	66.90
48	Hendry County	8	1	48,149	2.08	16.62
49	DeSoto County	7	2	37,214	5.37	18.81
50	Baker County	7	0	30,108	0.00	23.25
51	Glades County	7	0	13,425	0.00	52.14
52	Gilchrist County	6	2	20,731	9.65	28.94
53	Wakulla County	5	0	37,758	0.00	13.24
54	Washington County	5	0	27,461	0.00	18.21
55	Dixie County	5	1	18,007	5.55	27.77
56	Lafayette County	5	0	9,088	0.00	55.02
57	Taylor County	4	1	21,920	4.56	18.25
58	Madison County	4	0	18,406	0.00	21.73
59	Jefferson County	4	0	16,295	0.00	24.55
60	Franklin County	4	1	13,330	7.50	30.01
61	Bradford County	3	0	28,362	0.00	10.58
62	Holmes County	3	0	20,090	0.00	14.93
63	Gulf County	3	0	15,995	0.00	18.76
64	Union County	3	0	15,483	0.00	19.38
65	Hardee County	1	0	26,192	0.00	3.82
66	Calhoun County	1	1	13,059	7.66	7.66
67	Liberty County	1	0	8,139	0.00	12.29

If you have a loved one who was lost to a fatal accident in Marion County this year and want to share your story, contact us.