Halloween is one of my favorite nights in Omaha. Kids in costumes, porch lights on, whole neighborhoods out walking. It's also one of the most dangerous nights of the year to be a pedestrian, and the reason is simple: more children are on foot, in the dark, in places drivers don't expect, on the same night more drivers are impaired.
What NHTSA's numbers show
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tracks Halloween night specifically, which it defines as 6 p.m. on October 31 to 5:59 a.m. on November 1. According to NHTSA's Halloween safety data, from 2019 to 2024:
- 201 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes on Halloween night.
- 176 people were killed in crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
- 31 of the victims in those drunk-driving crashes were pedestrians.
Every one of those numbers was somebody's child, parent, or friend.
Safe Kids Worldwide puts the risk to kids even more bluntly on its Halloween page: "Children are twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween than on any other day."
Why trick-or-treat hours are so dangerous
Think about how a child actually moves on Halloween. They don't walk to the corner, wait, and cross. They go house to house, zigzagging across the street whenever the next porch light looks better than the one they're standing at. They step out from between parked cars and SUVs that hide anyone under four feet tall.
Now add the conditions. Trick-or-treating starts around dusk, which is the hardest light for a driver's eyes. Many costumes are black, dark purple, or dark green. Masks cut off side vision, so a child may not see a car coming from the left.
On the other side of the windshield are drivers coming home from work, parents shuttling kids between neighborhoods, and adults headed to parties. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday, so expect more parties and more people on the road late into the night.
For drivers: slow down and assume kids are everywhere
- Drive well below the limit in residential areas from late afternoon on. Kids dart between parked cars and cross mid-block.
- Put the phone away. Even a glance down at a navigation app can be the moment a child steps off the curb.
- Take extra care backing out of driveways and alleys.
- If you'll be drinking at a party, don't drive. Plan the ride home before the first drink.
- Treat every parked car as a hiding place. If you can't see past it, you can't see the child about to step out from behind it.
- Turn your headlights on early and keep your windshield clean. Dusk glare on a dirty windshield can hide a small child.
For families: be seen
- Add light. Glow sticks, reflective tape, or a flashlight make a dark costume visible.
- Make sure masks don't block vision. Face paint is safer.
- Walk with younger children, use sidewalks, and cross at corners.
- Talk with older kids going out on their own about which streets to avoid.
A few more things I'd do as a parent:
- Walk the route in daylight a day or two before. Look for blocks with no sidewalk, dark stretches with no streetlights, and busy streets the kids will need to cross.
- Set a check-in time and a meeting corner with older kids, and make sure their phone is charged.
- Teens driving to parties need a plan too. A new driver on a dark street full of children is a risk to everyone, and so is a teenager riding home with a friend who has been drinking.
What Nebraska law expects of drivers around children
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,109 says every driver "shall exercise due care... to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway" and "shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child." When a driver sees kids in costumes on the sidewalk, the law expects that driver to slow down and get ready for one of them to step into the street.
I've written more about the general pedestrian right-of-way rules in my post on Nebraska crosswalk law, and on my Omaha pedestrian accident page. Here I want to focus on the argument that shows up in almost every Halloween case.
"The kid came out of nowhere"
The insurer's usual story: the child ran out mid-block, in a dark costume, and no one could have stopped in time.
Nebraska law does say that a pedestrian crossing "at any point other than within a marked crosswalk, or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles," under § 60-6,154. Adjusters lean on that hard. But a Nebraska Supreme Court holding noted on that statute's page says a violation "is not determinative of the degree of a pedestrian's negligence, if any." Crossing mid-block doesn't end the case. It's one fact among many.
Nebraska also uses comparative fault. Under § 25-21,185.09, any fault assigned to the injured person "shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded" but "shall not bar recovery" unless it is "equal to or greater than" the total fault of the people being sued. So the fight is over percentages, and the insurer wants a big one.
Here's how that argument gets answered:
- What could the driver see, and when? If porch lights, streetlights, and a dozen kids on the sidewalk were visible from half a block away, the driver was on notice that children were nearby. That's exactly when § 60-6,109 calls for "proper precaution."
- How fast was the car going? A few miles an hour over the limit can be the difference between stopping short and hitting a child.
- Where were the driver's eyes? Phone records and the driver's own statements at the scene can show a text, a call, or a glance at the GPS.
- Who is being judged? An eight-year-old chasing friends to the next house is a child doing what children do on Halloween. A jury weighing that child's choices against an adult driver's choices will see the difference.
If your child is hit
No amount of preparation guarantees safety, and a crash is never the child's "fault" for being excited on Halloween. If it happens:
- Call 911 and get medical care right away, even if your child says they're fine.
- Get the driver's name, plate and insurance, and the names of other parents and witnesses on the block.
- Ask neighbors about doorbell cameras. On Halloween night, half the street may have recorded the crash, but that footage gets recorded over.
- Don't give a recorded statement to the driver's insurance company before you've talked with a lawyer.
If the driver was drunk or high, the criminal case is the state's case. Your family's claim for medical bills, pain, and the child's future is separate, and it's yours. If the driver fled or carried too little insurance, your own policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help. I've written about what happens when a driver hits a pedestrian and never stops.
And if the worst happens, my heart goes out to you. A family's claim after a fatal crash is handled as a wrongful death action, and I treat those cases with the care they deserve.
The first 48 hours after a child is hit
The steps above are the basics.
Follow up on the medical side. Children can look fine at the scene and then get worse that night. Watch for headaches, vomiting, unusual sleepiness, confusion, or a change in behavior, and go back to the ER or call the pediatrician if you see them. Head injuries in kids deserve close attention; I explain more on my brain injury page.
Keep the costume. Don't wash it or throw it away. Bag it as it is. If it had reflective tape, a light-up piece, or bright colors, it's proof your child was visible.
Go back to the scene at the same time the next night. Take photos and video of the lighting from the driver's direction of travel. Note which porch lights and streetlights are on, where cars are parked, and how far you can see.
Make a list of every camera. Walk the block and note every doorbell camera, porch camera, and security camera that faces the street. Many systems overwrite footage within days.
Where the insurance money comes from for a child
Nebraska's minimum auto liability coverage is $25,000 for injury to one person and $50,000 for everyone hurt in one crash, under § 60-310. A child's serious injuries can cost far more than that. That's why it matters to find every layer of coverage early: the driver's policy, your family's own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and any medical payments coverage on your policy.
There's one Halloween situation families often get wrong. Sometimes the driver is a parent or grandparent backing out of the driveway, and the child lives in that household. Families assume their own policy won't cover their own child. But § 60-310 says an auto liability policy "shall not exclude, limit, reduce, or otherwise alter liability coverage under the policy solely because the injured person making a claim is the named insured in the policy or residing in the household with the named insured." I've explained how similar claims work for injured passengers.
If health insurance or Medicaid pays your child's bills, they may ask to be repaid from any settlement. I explain how that works in my guide to medical liens and subrogation.
A hypothetical example
This is a made-up scenario, not a real case. At 7:15 p.m., a nine-year-old dressed as a ninja crosses mid-block between two parked SUVs. A driver going 33 in a 25 zone, glancing at a text, hits her. The insurer argues she crossed outside a crosswalk in a black costume, so she's mostly at fault. But a neighbor's doorbell camera shows a dozen kids on that block, every porch light on, and the car never braking until the last second. Under § 60-6,109, the driver had seen children and was required to take "proper precaution." Under § 25-21,185.09, even if a jury puts some share of fault on the child, it reduces her recovery rather than wiping it out, unless her share is equal to or greater than the driver's.
Mistakes that hurt Halloween injury claims
- Waiting on the video. Doorbell footage is the best evidence in many of these cases and the first to disappear.
- Signing a broad medical authorization for the other driver's insurer. They don't need your child's entire medical history.
- Taking the first offer. Early offers rarely account for a child's future care. Read why the first settlement offer is usually low.
- Assuming a child's deadline doesn't matter. Nebraska gives injured children extra time in some situations, but not all, and evidence doesn't wait. See my guide to Nebraska's statute of limitations.
Why Omaha families trust me
When a child is hurt, parents need someone who will be patient with them and relentless with the insurance company. I document the injuries, chase down every recording and witness, and hold impaired and careless drivers fully accountable. My clients have recovered more than $23 million, including a $5.4 million result. Families have shared their experiences in many five-star reviews, and my firm was voted Best of Omaha for personal injury law in 2025 and 2026.
If your child or anyone in your family was hit while walking, talk to an Omaha pedestrian accident lawyer. Call me at (402) 378-9208 or reach out here. It's free to talk, and there's no fee unless I win.
Have a safe, happy Halloween.
Frequently asked questions
- How dangerous is Halloween night for pedestrians?
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tracks Halloween night specifically, which it defines as 6 p.m. on October 31 to 5:59 a.m. on November 1. From 2019 to 2024, 201 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes on Halloween night, and 176 were killed in crashes involving a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. 31 of the victims in those drunk-driving crashes were pedestrians.
- What does Nebraska law expect of drivers around children?
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-6,109 says every driver "shall exercise due care... to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway" and "shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child." When a driver sees kids in costumes on the sidewalk, the law expects that driver to slow down and get ready for one of them to step into the street.
- Can a child who ran out mid-block still recover in Nebraska?
- Crossing mid-block doesn't end the case. It's one fact among many. Nebraska uses comparative fault: under § 25-21,185.09, any fault assigned to the injured person "shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded" but "shall not bar recovery" unless it is "equal to or greater than" the total fault of the people being sued.
- Does our own auto policy cover our child if a family member was the driver?
- Families often assume their own policy won't cover their own child. But § 60-310 says an auto liability policy "shall not exclude, limit, reduce, or otherwise alter liability coverage under the policy solely because the injured person making a claim is the named insured in the policy or residing in the household with the named insured."
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Frank Younes
Every page on this site is written by Frank Younes, a Nebraska trial attorney with a published record of verdicts and settlements, selection to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and a practice that covers every county in Nebraska and Iowa. No case is handed to an associate — the lawyer you read here is the lawyer who works your case.
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