New data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows a nationwide breakdown of fatal motor vehicle crashes by county in 2018, and the Hudson Valley counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster combined for 85 total deaths in that 12-month time frame.

Orange County led the group with 28 total fatalities on its roadways in 2018, followed by Dutchess with 26, Sullivan with 14 Ulster with 13, and Putnam with 4.

Of the top 50 counties in the country with the highest number of fatalities, only one from New York made the list — Long Island’s Suffolk County, with 132 deaths in 2018, placing it at number 23 on the chart. That number is up by two deaths in 2017, the data showed.

Additionally, just two other counties in the northeast made the top 50 list: Philadelphia County in Pennsylvania with 103 fatalities, and New Haven County in Connecticut with 85.

Los Angeles County in California led the nation with 670 fatalities in 2018, up from 658 from the year prior.

“This is not surprising,” a report compiled by Wendt Law Firm P.C. based on the datasaid. “LA County is not only the most populous county in the state of California, but the most populous county in the nation, with more than 10 million people residing within county lines.

“Pinpointing traffic fatalities by county is arguably more valuable for inspiring change on a more significant level for traffic safety in America,” Wendt Law Firm P.C. noted. “By analyzing traffic fatality data on a more granular level, we can gain insight into counties that are hot spots for traffic deaths…that we wouldn’t have otherwise found if looking by state."

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