Statewide fatal crashes in MA, March 2024
Throughout the year, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from a previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here.
In our previous post, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in February; seven were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in March 2024. 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 22 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in March in the MassDOT Crash portal, 7 were identified as people walking.
- At least two of the crashes involved people who knew each other and a vehicle backing up.
- The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in March was 44.7.
| Date | 3/2/2024, 8:26 PM |
| Location | 149 Pleasant St. |
| Town | Attleboro |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 74 |
| Sex | M |
NBC10 WJAR reports 74-year old Basil Bletsis was struck and killed while trying to cross Pleasant Street (Rt 123).
From WJAR:
Residents of the Pleasant Street Rest Home said the victim of Saturday’s fatal collision, a 74-year-old man, was a friend, neighbor, and roommate, adding the mishap came as less of a shock, and more as a reflection of reality, living along Route 123.
Several rest home residents said they believe the victim was probably trying to make it across the street on his way to the Stop and Shop supermarket about a block away.
Several residents of the rest home said they hope this tragedy sheds light on what they described as the desperate need for increased pedestrian safety measures throughout the neighborhood.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Pleasant Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with two travel lanes in each direction. There is a sidewalk on both sides of the street. The speed limit is 30mph.
| Date | 3/2/2024, 8:53 PM |
| Location | 47 State Rd. West |
| Town | Westminster |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 36 |
| Sex | M |
The Gardner News reports that the driver of a car struck a pedestrian on Route 2A resulting in fatal injuries.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, State Road West (Rt 2A) is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with one travel lane in each direction. There is no sidewalk. The speed limit is 45mph.
| Date | 3/3/2024, 2:56 AM |
| Location | I-93 NORTH, MM 35 |
| Town | Wilmington |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 47 |
| Sex | M |
A 47-year old man was struck and killed on I-93 North near mile marker 35 in Wilmington. The Wilmington Police log from that date states, “One party was ejected. Injuries.” We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-93 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way limited access highway with four travel lanes in each direction. The speed limit is 65mph.
| Date | 3/10/2024, 9:14 PM |
| Location | 169 Squire Rd. |
| Town | Revere |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 28 |
| Sex | F |
The Boston Globe reports 28-year old Sofia Isabel Mejia Zambrano was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle Sunday night while crossing Route 60 on her way to catch a bus after her shift had ended at Market Basket, according to law enforcement and a store manager.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Squire Road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with two travel lanes in one direction and three travel lanes in the other direction. There is a sidewalk on both sides of the street. The speed limit is 30mph.
| Date | 3/24/2024, 5:06 PM |
| Location | Congress St. + Sleeper St. |
| Town | Boston |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 4 |
| Sex | F |
4-year old Gracie Gancheva was struck and killed after being struck by a pickup truck driver who turned onto Sleeper Street.
From the Boston Globe:
“This is an almost unimaginable tragedy,” Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Mayor Michelle Wu’s chief of streets, told residents Saturday morning.
He said the changes to Sleeper Street should be underway in the next few weeks. Officials already have removed one parking spot on Congress Street near the intersection and plan to replace it with a box of flex poles, allowing visibility but making drivers unable to cut the corner quickly. The city also will look at the narrow partial sidewalk on one side of the road, with an eye toward potentially expanding it to a full sidewalk.
The broader redesign of the area’s streets is on track to start next year, he said. That will include a raised crosswalk at the intersection where the girl died.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Sleeper Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with one travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side of the street, and a narrow curb edge on the other. The speed limit is 25mph.
| Date | 3/29/2024, 12:28 PM |
| Location | 370 Park Ave. |
| Town | Worcester |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 88 |
| Sex | M |
An 88-year old man was struck and killed by a 69-year old driver as they were returning to their vehicle after getting coffee, according to Boston 25 News:
Investigators say the victim and a 69-year-old man went to get a coffee at a local establishment and upon returning to their vehicle, the 69-year-old got into the car and allegedly accelerated backward and then forwards, striking the 88-year-old victim who was standing outside.
It is unclear from the reporting if the incident happened along the roadway or in an adjacent parking lot.
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Park Avenue is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with two travel lanes in each direction. There is a sidewalk on both sides of the street. There are crosswalks for all legs of the intersection. The speed limit is 30mph.
| Date | 3/29/2024, 7:13 PM |
| Location | 240 Second St. |
| Town | Chelsea |
| Type | PEDESTRIAN |
| Age | 36 |
| Sex | F |
The Boston Globe reports 36-year old Jean Baptiste was struck in the head and killed by a sign while standing on a sidewalk after the driver of a 2010 Subaru Outback crashed into the sign post.
From the Boston Globe:
Baptiste got out of the Subaru about 7:10 p.m. and stood on the sidewalk as the driver pulled forward and toward the left, then put the SUV in reverse, indicating that he was making a three-point turn, State Police said in a statement.
The SUV then accelerated in reverse and jumped the curb, striking a metal post that held a “no parking” sign next to where the woman was standing, according to the statement.
“The force of the car striking the signpost caused the sign to come down violently and strike the woman in the head,” State Police said. “The vehicle itself does not appear to have made contact with the woman.”
According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Second Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two-way road with one travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on both sides of the street. 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 2024 list. WalkMassachusetts 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.
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2022)
Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2023)
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 most current information on IMPACT regarding motor vehicle fatalities can be found at (https://apps.impact.dot.state.ma.us/cdp/dashboard-view/2047/). Other places on IMPACT may not be as current and the motor vehicle fatality information may not match. 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 2021 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 407).
