Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, April 2023

Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in March; six were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in April 2023. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

• Of the 23 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in April in the MassDOT Crash portal, 5 were identified as people walking.
• The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in April was 41.2.
• 3 of the fatal crashes took place at intersections.

According to a press release from the Essex District Attorney’s Office, 64-year old Silvana Seabra was struck by a van about 2:43 p.m. on April 3 at the intersection of Lawrence St and Erving [Avenue] in Lawrence. She passed away over a week later at Boston Medical Center. A man who also was struck suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at Lawrence General Hospital.

The intersection is a street crossing for the Spicket River Greenway and is adjacent to the Hayden Schofield Playstead park; Google Street View from October 2019 shows a faded crosswalk.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, each road at this intersection is under local jurisdiction. Erving Avenue is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on both sides (note: road inventory says 1 side). The speed limit is unclear, as it is unlisted and not viewable nearby on street view. Lawrence Street is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk and street parking on both sides of the street. The speed limit is unclear, as it is listed as 99 and not viewable nearby on street view.

WBZ/CBS Boston reports that 19-year old UMass Dartmouth freshman Frank Petillo, Jr. was struck and killed by another student on the campus’ Ring Road. As of this posting, a petition for pedestrian safety improvements on the campus had over 7,000 signatures.

From WBZ:

His death quickly drew attention to the perceived lack of safety on Ring Road, the school’s main thoroughfare and Chancellor Mark Fuller on Monday announced several steps to make it safer, either right away or by the end of the academic year.

They include portable speed bumps, flashing speed limit signs, additional patrol cars, elevated speed tables and crosswalks, and concrete barriers to protect some walkways.

UMass also said it plans to build a new pedestrian walkway to connect the school to a nearby apartment complex.

Students say these changes are long overdue. “The speed limit is supposed to be 25,” student Kyrillos Kedees said. “We really don’t want that to happen again.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under state college or university jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There are no sidewalks on some sections of the roadway, with a sidewalk on one side for other sections. The speed limit is 25mph.

WWLP reports 29-year old Kyle Bezio was struck and killed after being hit by a car on Route 202 in the area of 150 Daniel Shays Highway. The 20-year old driver and his passenger stopped and tried to help Bezio before he was taken by ambulance to Athol Hospital.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is shoulder on each side and no sidewalks. The speed limit is listed as 35mph in one direction and 45mph in the opposing direction.

41-year old Tammi Lyn Guy was struck and killed as she was crossing Jefferson Avenue at Wilson Street on the night of Easter Sunday.

Boston.com spoke to Salem City Councilor Patti Morsillo about the crash:

“My heart breaks for Tammi Guy’s family,” Salem City Councilor Patti Morsillo told Boston.com in an email. “This was a tragedy, and happened right in her own neighborhood.”

Morsillo said that after years of accidents on the residential and school-area street, the Salem Police Department is gathering crash data from the intersection. She also said that Salem will conduct a city meeting “within a week or two” after the collection process is complete. She says the meeting would include the acting mayor, the Director of Traffic and Parking, the Police Chief, the Lieutenant in charge of the Traffic Division, the City Engineer, the City Electrician, and herself.

“Instead of prioritizing efficient throughput of vehicles, we need to create safer roads for everyone: pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.  The goal for every road should be zero crashes,” she said.

“We will look at the effectiveness of the street lights, road markings, crosswalk visibility, and geometry of the road, to determine what needs to be done to make the area safer,” Morsillo added.  “Salem has been working on intersection design upgrades in the area, and I am hoping to accelerate that work.  The issue of road safety requires a team approach, which is how this work will move forward.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 1 travel lane in each direction; Google Street View shows that drivers create a second lane on Jefferson through the intersection where parking is prohibited, but not restricted. There is a sidewalk on both sides of the street and a crosswalks for 2 of the 3 legs of the intersection. The speed limit is 25mph.

53-year old Torrance Hodges was struck and killed by the 52-year old driver of a 2006 Chevrolet Express van who was driving southbound with the green light on Gallivan Boulevard at Dorchester Avenue.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Gallivan Boulevard is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with 2 travel lanes in each direction. There is also a slip lane to Dorchester Avenue in each direction. There is a sidewalk and street parking on both sides of the street; street parking is restricted closer to the intersection. The speed limit is 30mph.

Updates

If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2023 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.

Yearly trackers:  |  ||||| 2022 | 2023

Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal

MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).