Collocations for accident - noun

bad, dreadful (esp. BrE), horrible, horrific (esp. BrE), major, nasty, serious, terrible, tragic, unfortunate
deadly (AmE), fatal
a fatal road accident

minor, slight, small
bizarre, freak
Their boat sank in a freak accident.

hit-and-run
industrial, nuclear
auto (AmE), automobile (AmE), bike, car, highway (AmE), motor (BrE), motorbike (BrE), motorcycle, motor-vehicle, road, traffic
The woman was involved in a road traffic accident. (BrE)

aircraft, airplane (AmE), plane (esp. AmE)
boating, climbing, hunting, riding, skiing

be involved in, have, meet with (BrE), suffer
She met with an accident while skiing in Colorado.

cause
avoid, prevent
survive
recover from

happen, occur, take place

black spot (BrE)
victim
prevention
investigation, report
rate, statistics

in an/the accident

an accident involving
He was badly hurt in an accident involving two cars and a van.

an accident waiting to happen (= a situation which is likely to become dangerous)
the scene of the accident
The ambulance took only six minutes to reach the scene of the accident.

mere, pure, sheer
By pure accident he had come across the very man who could solve the mystery.

happy
historical

by accident
We met by accident at the airport.

an accident of birth (esp. BrE)
an accident of history
It's just an accident of history that the city became part of the Soviet Union.

be no accident that …
It is no accident that men fill most of the top jobs.

by accident or design
It happened, whether by accident or design, that Steve and I were the last two people to leave.