Route 23 NJ accident data, town by town from Verona to Montague
Route 23 logged 2,167 police-reported car accidents in 2023 and 2024, and 559 left someone hurt or killed. Wayne has the most injury crashes, 119. The Sussex County miles carry fewer crashes but most head-on crashes, and 4 of the road's 13 deaths from 2023 to 2025 were in Montague.
Hurt on Route 23, from Wayne up to Sussex? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if a sponsoring lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
Why do southern Route 23 and Sussex crash so differently?
The southern miles are suburban traffic dominated by rear-end crashes, while Sussex has fewer crashes but most of the head-on and unlit-road crashes.
South of Sussex, the road logged 1,579 of 2,167 accidents, and 184 of 405 injury crashes were rear-end, about 45 percent. In the Morris County stretch it reaches 87 of 143, about 61 percent, against about 31 percent statewide.
Sussex holds 19 of the road's 26 head-on injury crashes and 50 of the 94 crashes police coded as dark with no street lights.
See the full table
| County | All accidents | Someone hurt or killed | People killed | Rear-end, someone hurt | Head-on, someone hurt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex (Verona, Cedar Grove) | 304 | 69 | 1 | 27 | 2 |
| Passaic (Little Falls, Wayne, West Milford) | 754 | 193 | 2 | 70 | 1 |
| Morris (Pequannock, Riverdale, Kinnelon, Butler, Jefferson) | 521 | 143 | 4 | 87 | 4 |
| Sussex (Hardyston to Montague) | 588 | 154 | 3 | 53 | 19 |
| All Route 23 | 2,167 | 559 | 10 | 237 | 26 |
Which Route 23 towns, in milepost order, log the most crashes?
Wayne leads with 482 accidents and 119 injury crashes in 2023 and 2024; Pequannock (71), West Milford (54) and Franklin (53) follow on injury crashes.
How Wayne's crashes split between Routes 202, 23 and 46 is on the Wayne car accident data page. Pequannock, Butler and Riverdale are in the Morris County car accident guide. Milepost 0 is the southern end in Verona; Montague's crashes sit near milepost 50.7.
See the full table
| Town, county | Typical milepost | All accidents | Someone hurt or killed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Twp, Passaic | 5.6 | 482 | 119 |
| Pequannock Twp, Morris | 11.0 | 204 | 71 |
| West Milford Twp, Passaic | 22.0 | 194 | 54 |
| Franklin Boro, Sussex | 32.8 | 158 | 53 |
| Cedar Grove Twp, Essex | 2.2 | 226 | 52 |
| Butler Boro, Morris | 15.3 | 155 | 49 |
| Wantage Twp, Sussex | 39.6 | 150 | 32 |
All 16 towns in road order, with deaths and whether 2025 looks complete
| Town, county | Typical milepost | All accidents 2023 + 2024 | Someone hurt or killed 2023 + 2024 | Fatal accidents 2023 to 2025 | 2025 file so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verona Twp, Essex | 0.3 | 78 | 17 | 0 | In line with 2024 |
| Cedar Grove Twp, Essex | 2.2 | 226 | 52 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| Little Falls Twp, Passaic | 4.4 | 78 | 20 | 0 | In line with 2024 |
| Wayne Twp, Passaic | 5.6 | 482 | 119 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| Pequannock Twp, Morris | 11.0 | 204 | 71 | 2 | In line with 2024 |
| Riverdale Boro, Morris | 13.4 | 129 | 16 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| Kinnelon Boro, Morris | 14.5 | 19 | 4 | 0 | In line with 2024 |
| Butler Boro, Morris | 15.3 | 155 | 49 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| West Milford Twp, Passaic | 22.0 | 194 | 54 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| Jefferson Twp, Morris | 22.3 | 14 | 3 | 0 | In line with 2024 |
| Hardyston Twp, Sussex | 29.4 | 87 | 18 | 0 | In line with 2024 |
| Franklin Boro, Sussex | 32.8 | 158 | 53 | 1 | Likely incomplete |
| Hamburg Boro, Sussex | 35.2 | 83 | 20 | 0 | Likely incomplete |
| Wantage Twp, Sussex | 39.6 | 150 | 32 | 1 | In line with 2024 |
| Sussex Boro, Sussex | 40.0 | 57 | 11 | 0 | Likely incomplete |
| Montague Twp, Sussex | 50.7 | 53 | 20 | 4 | Likely incomplete |
The 2025 file is still preliminary. The whole road already has 1,400 records against 1,236 for 2024, but Montague, Hamburg, Sussex Borough and Franklin are still well below their 2024 counts.2
Which Route 23 towns had fatal accidents from 2023 to 2025?
Nine towns did, and Montague had the most: 4 of the 13 fatal accidents, in a town with about 2 percent of the road's accidents.
Four of the 13 people killed were pedestrians, in Butler, Cedar Grove, West Milford and Montague. Pequannock had two, at Alexander Avenue in May 2023 and April 2024, at the same recorded milepost.
All 13 fatal accidents by month, town and police-coded crash type
| Month | Town, county | Police-coded crash type | Light |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | Pequannock Twp, Morris | Rear end | Dawn |
| July 2023 | Wayne Twp, Passaic | Fixed object | Dark, street lights on |
| October 2023 | Montague Twp, Sussex | Right angle | Daylight |
| February 2024 | Butler Boro, Morris | Pedestrian | Dark, street lights off |
| April 2024 | Pequannock Twp, Morris | Right angle | Dusk |
| May 2024 | Franklin Boro, Sussex | Head on | Daylight |
| July 2024 | Cedar Grove Twp, Essex | Pedestrian | Daylight |
| September 2024 | West Milford Twp, Passaic | Pedestrian | Dawn |
| October 2024 | Montague Twp, Sussex | Fixed object (rollover) | Daylight |
| October 2024 | Riverdale Boro, Morris | Head on | Dark, street lights on |
| July 2025 | Montague Twp, Sussex | Pedestrian | Daylight |
| August 2025 | Wantage Twp, Sussex | Head on | Dark, no street lights |
| September 2025 | Montague Twp, Sussex | Fixed object | Dusk |
Families can start with what families should know after a serious car accident in New Jersey. If a pedestrian was hit, see pedestrian accidents in New Jersey.
When do deer and rush hour crashes peak on Route 23?
Injury crashes peak between 3 pm and 6 pm, and deer crashes peak in October and November.
Of the 559 injury crashes in 2023 and 2024, 135 fell between 3 pm and 6 pm, and the 5 pm hour alone had 53. December (58) and October (57) had the most, January the fewest (31).
Police recorded a deer as the first thing hit in 172 Route 23 accidents, about 8 percent, more than twice the statewide 3.6 percent. Of those, 71 came in October and November, and only 7 hurt someone.
Deer are not only a Sussex problem: Cedar Grove recorded 31, West Milford 29, Wantage 23 and Pequannock 19. The deer months and the counties with the most deer crashes statewide are on hit a deer in NJ: what to do and who pays. Rush hour statewide is on when most car accidents happen in New Jersey.4
Is Cotluss Road the worst Route 23 crossing?
On 2024 and 2025 records, yes: Cotluss Road in Riverdale leads with 14 injury crashes among 68 accidents.
Pequannock has three of the top ten crossings, the Boulevard, Jackson Avenue and Alexander Avenue, and Wayne has three more. Further north, Route 517 and Franklin Avenue in Franklin, Scenic Lake Road in Hardyston and Main Street in Hamburg lead on smaller counts.
The Sussex County car accident guide covers Hamburg and the Route 23 and Route 94 corridor.
See the full table
| Rank | Cross street as recorded | Town, county | Someone hurt or killed | All accidents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cotluss Road | Riverdale Boro, Morris | 14 | 68 |
| 2 (tie) | West Belt Parkway | Wayne Twp, Passaic | 13 | 43 |
| 2 (tie) | Route 511 Alternate (Boulevard) | Pequannock Twp, Morris | 13 | 41 |
| 4 (tie) | Jackson Avenue (Morris County 680) | Pequannock Twp, Morris | 11 | 40 |
| 4 (tie) | Alexander Avenue | Pequannock Twp, Morris | 11 | 38 |
| 4 (tie) | Route 511 (Boonton Avenue) | Butler Boro, Morris | 11 | 31 |
| 7 (tie) | Route 202 secondary (Black Oak Ridge Road) | Wayne Twp, Passaic | 10 | 40 |
| 7 (tie) | Main Street (Passaic County 631) | Little Falls Twp, Passaic | 10 | 39 |
| 7 (tie) | North Leg | Wayne Twp, Passaic | 10 | 33 |
| 7 (tie) | Route 513 (Union Valley Road) | West Milford Twp, Passaic | 10 | 26 |
How do I look up a Route 23 accident report in NJ?
Ask the agency that wrote it: State Police for most crashes in Wantage, Sussex Borough and Montague, town police almost everywhere else.
- Wantage, Sussex Borough and Montague: most records name the State Police Sussex station, 192 of 238, 76 of 87 and 59 of 74.
- Wayne: the town police department; see the Wayne accident report steps.
- Every other Route 23 town: that town's police department.
Fees, waits and the form to use when no officer came are in how to get your New Jersey accident report.6
Route 23 accident questions
Was there a fatal accident on Route 23 yesterday, or a crash today?
Ask the agency that covers that stretch: the State Police Sussex station for Wantage, Sussex Borough and Montague, or the town police elsewhere. Our records stop at 2025; the latest fatal accident in them is September 2025 in Montague.
Is Route 23 dangerous?
It weighs most on Sussex County: Route 23 has about 13 percent of all Sussex injury crashes (154 of 1,168), against about 2 percent in Passaic (193 of 7,917). Sussex also has 19 of its 26 head-on injury crashes. Thirteen deaths in three years are too few to rank it against other roads.
Does Route 23 get more deer crashes than other New Jersey roads?
Yes, about 8 percent of its accidents involve a deer, against 3.6 percent statewide. Route 202 accident data counts deer crashes on that road the same way, and who pays after you hit a deer in NJ covers insurance.
How long do you have to report an accident in NJ?
Tell the police right away, and send a written report to the Motor Vehicle Commission within 10 days unless an officer files one. Late reports and the SR-1 form are covered in our accident report guide.
Are NJ accident reports public, and can I get one online?
State Police reports for the Sussex towns come from the State Police online crash report portal. Who may request a report, and each agency's route, are in how to get your New Jersey accident report.
What these numbers can and cannot tell you
The counts on this page are police-reported car accidents from NJDOT crash records, analyzed by us. They show where and when accidents where someone was hurt happened on Route 23. They do not show who was at fault in any accident, and they say nothing about whether you have a claim or what it could be worth.
Rules that apply anywhere in New Jersey
- Your own auto policy's PIP pays eligible medical expenses "no matter who caused the auto accident," up to your policy's limit and after its deductible and co-pay. If you chose your health insurance as primary, it pays first and PIP pays second. A claim against the other driver for pain and suffering is separate: it depends on fault and on the lawsuit option on your policy. 7
- Being partly at fault does not stop you from recovering, as long as your share is not greater than the other driver's, or the combined share of all the drivers you claim against (the "51 percent" rule). Your damages are reduced by your share. 8
- If someone is hurt or killed, or property damage to any one person is over $500, the driver must tell the police right away and send a written report to the Motor Vehicle Commission within 10 days, unless a police officer files one. If police did not investigate, New Jersey's SR-1 self-reporting form is the form for that. 9
- An injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years, and a claim against a public body (a town, the state, NJ Transit) needs a written notice within 90 days. These are general rules with exceptions; check your own dates with a lawyer. 10
Next steps: how to get your New Jersey accident report, agency by agency, and how New Jersey no-fault (PIP) insurance works after an accident. This is general information, not legal advice.
Hurt in a car accident on Route 23? Take the 30-second New Jersey quiz to see if a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
Sources
- NJDOT crash records 2023 to 2025 via hudcostreets/nj-crashes, fatal accidents added from NJ State Police; our own counts.
- our NJDOT counts, 2023 to 2025.
- our NJDOT and NJ State Police counts; each fatal accident killed one person.
- our NJDOT counts, 2023 and 2024.
- our NJDOT counts, 2024 and 2025. Four streets tie at 10 and the next have 8.
- our NJDOT counts of the police station named in each record.
- NJ DOBI Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide 2026, pp. 2, 6; DOBI health insurance as primary
- N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1; NJ DOBI comparative negligence FAQ
- N.J.S.A. 39:4-130; NJDOT self-reporting crash form
- N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; N.J.S.A. 59:8-8
How we counted
- Records: NJDOT crash records with a state route 23 prefix such as "NJ 23"; county roads numbered 23 are left out.
- Totals use 2023 and 2024, the complete years; 2025 is preliminary. The 2023 export differs, so the rise from 931 to 1,236 is not a trend.
- Typical milepost is the median of a town's records. Roadwide, 2025 is at 1.133 times 2024; towns under 0.9 are marked likely incomplete.
- Cross streets use 2024 and 2025, with spelling variants not combined. Station counts are a floor.
- Statewide shares: rear-end 30.7 percent of injury crashes; deer 18,591 of 514,320 accidents.
- Counts carry no traffic volume, fault or claim value.