Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, August 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 July; three were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in August 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 31 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in August in the MassDOT Crash portal, 6 were identified as people walking.
• The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in August was 52.3.
• At least 1 took place in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data.

Western Mass News reports a driver of a Jeep struck and killed a 53-year old person walking in the southbound left lane near 1233 Main Street in Holyoke.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Main Street/SR-5 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is two-way street with two lanes in each direction, a median barrier, and a sidewalk on the northbound side. The speed limit is 45 mph.

NBC Boston reports 36-year old John Blomgren was struck and killed by a 56-year old driver just before 7pm in a sports bar’s parking lot.

This fatal crash happened in a parking lot, which is usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, MacArthur Drive is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with one lane in each direction, sidewalks on both sides, and bike lanes in each direction. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph listed in the database.

Boston 25 News reports 63-year old Richard Erwin was struck and killed by 18-year old Jacob Ryan who was driving a brown KIA Optima around 9pm.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Union Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with one lane in each direction, sidewalks on both sides, and bike lanes in each direction. The speed limit is unclear, with 99mph listed in the database.

We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

This fatal crash happened on a roadway within a cemetery, private parking areas are usually not included in FARS crash data. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, High Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street with no sidewalks. The speed limit is unclear, as it is not listed and not viewable nearby on street view.

Cape Cod Times/Yahoo News shared that a serious multi-vehicle crash in Dennis shut down Route 6 eastbound early Sunday morning. We could not find any additional news coverage of this crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, US-6 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a divided highway with a grassy median, with two lanes and a shoulder in each direction. The speed limit is 55mph.

A 51-year old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle on Dickinson Street in Springfield.

WWLP/22News spoke to community members nearby:

“They drive a little too fast and we have to watch and make sure they clear before I walk,” said Cathy Tai, owner of Cathy’s Beauty Supply.

“The biggest problem that I find living here and crossing these streets is just people that drive aggressively. They come around the corner, they don’t expect someone to be standing there trying to cross,” said Thomas Balcom of Springfield.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Dickinson Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way street, with one lane in each direction with sidewalks on both sides. 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).