Each month in 2021, we plan to 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 the seven fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in October. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in November 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

• Of the 36 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in November in the MassDOT Crash portal, eight were identified as people walking. We have also included one additional fatal pedestrian crash that was covered in the Cape Cod Times which may not have been submitted yet to MassDOT (as of 12/16).
• The crash portal does not include names. The name of three of the people walking who died have not been made public yet.
• The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in November was 68.3.
• At least two of the crashes were hit & runs (as referenced in news articles).
• The name of the person driving was only identified in two of the crashes in news articles that we found.

40-year-old Michael Diaz Vargas was struck and killed on State Street in Springfield. WWLP reported that the 26-year-old driver, Eric Reyes of Springfield, faces charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligence and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. It is two-way, with 2 travel lanes in each direction, separated by a grassy median. There is a sidewalk on each side. There is no crosswalk across State Street. The speed limit is listed as 35mph.

Brookline Patch reported that 63-year-old Patricia “Patty” Arellano was in a crosswalk when she was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle. The unidentified driver was cited for failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. She had been traveling on Washington Street and turned right onto Downing Road where she struck Patty.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, both streets are under local jurisdiction. Washington Street is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. There is a crosswalk across Downing Road where Patty was struck. The speed limit is 30mph.

In January 2020, WalkBoston met with Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon and representatives of Boston’s Office of Neighborhood Services and Age Strong Commission at the B’nai B’rith Housing’s Covenant House & Patricia White Apartments (a 3 minute walk on Washington Street from the location in Brookline where Patty was killed). Residents shared that drivers speed along Washington Street mainly during non-rush hour times of day as they come down the hill on Washington away from Commonwealth Avenue, which leads to dangerous conditions for pedestrians trying to use the crosswalks. The City of Boston has since implemented changes to those crosswalks as part of the Allston Brighton Mobility Plan.

MassLive reported that 57-year-old Christopher Sheppard was hit and killed in a multiple vehicle crash on I-495. From the MassLive story:

Lauren Dyer, 62, of Braintree, who was driving a pickup truck, was pronounced dead at the scene after being crushed between two vehicles. Another driver, Christopher Sheppard, who was hit while on foot outside his vehicle, died Tuesday night in a Rhode Island Hospital, authorities say. He was transported to the hospital after the incident with severe injuries.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a limited access highway, with 3 travel lanes in each direction, separated by a grassy median. The speed limit is listed as 65mph.

The Boston Globe reported an unidentified 73-year-old woman was fatally struck and killed by a driver in Brockton on Main Street. The article included a statement from the Plymouth District Attorney’s office: “Brockton Police contacted Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and an investigation commenced. The investigation is ongoing at this time.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. (Main Street is Route 28, and some sections of Route 28 in Brockton are under MassDOT control.) Main Street is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. There is a crosswalk without curb ramps across Main Street at this address. The speed limit is 35mph.

StreetsblogMASS reported a driver struck and killed Gayle Ball, a Springfield City library employee, age 56, while she was crossing State Street. It was the third death caused by a motor vehicle driver on State Street so far this year and second pedestrian that was hit/killed in November.

MassLive reported that the city is now making a change to State Street:

In a press briefing in city hall, public works director Christopher Cignoli said the redesign is thought of as the best way to address the safety concerns on State Street caused by the conflicting issues of pedestrians not using a crosswalk and vehicles driving fast or recklessly.

As part of the redesign, the city intends to install a crosswalk, elevated 4 to 8 inches above the roadway, between the Central Library and St. Michael’s Cathedral.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. It is two-way, with 2 travel lanes in each direction, separated by a grassy median. There is a sidewalk on each side. There is no crosswalk across State Street. The speed limit is listed as 35mph in the Road Inventory. (It is posted as 25mph in one direction and 30mph in the other direction on Google Streetview, which dates to September 2019).

This crash was not listed in the crash portal as of 12/16; this info is from Cape Cod Times reporting.

The Cape Cod Times reported 91-year-old Dorothy Henderson was struck by two vehicles several minutes after she exited a Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority bus at the junction of Orchard Road and Asher’s Path on Route 28 in Mashpee on Nov. 22, according to Mashpee police. Although Henderson was initially conscious after the accident, she died from her injuries on the way to the hospital. The two drivers were not identified.

Her friend, Frances Delgado, described the intersection near the crash location:

With no crosswalk, or pedestrian stop signal at the Route 28 intersection, Delgado said cars must have had a hard time spotting [Dorothy]. “The green light is so short. You can barely make a turn there, let alone somebody walking across there. It’s so dark. You can’t see anybody out there,” Delgado said. “After this is all said and done, we need a crosswalk or safety precautions put in place. We are a 55 and older living community and it’s not right that our lives are at risk in this way.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a painted median, which is replaced by a turning lane on approach to the intersection. There are no sidewalks on this portion of Route 28. There are no crosswalks at the intersection. The speed limit is 50mph.

NBC Boston reported that an unidentified 76-year-old Lynn resident was struck and killed in a crosswalk on the Lynnway by the driver of a 2007 Jeep Commander, a 32-year-old Lynn resident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under MassDCR jurisdiction. It is two-way, divided parkway, with 2 travel lanes and parking in one direction and 3 travel lanes in the other direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. There is a crosswalk and signal at Newhall Street. The speed limit is 35mph.

85-year-old Alexander Gribko was struck and killed on a side access road along Winslow Gray Road in Yarmouth. The driver fled the scene. Alexander was found by a police officer on routine patrol in the morning, though police believe he may have been struck a little after 5pm the day before while returning home from an afternoon walk. Police are still trying to identify the driver and the vehicle that struck Gribko, according to a Cape Cod Times article from mid-December.

WCVB spoke to Alexander’s neighbors:

“He’s friendly. He’d talk with all the people up and down the street, because he was out walking,” said resident Phil Johnston.

Residents are in shock that anyone could hit Gribko and leave him to die in the dark and the cold.

“It’s absurd. I just don’t get it. How could anybody do that?” asked resident Tom Vuono.

The address is listed as 172 Winslow Gray Rd in the crash portal; NBC Boston’s coverage shows tire tracks and police evidence markings along the side access road. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. It is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There are no sidewalks, but there is a side access road. The speed limit is 30mph.

WWLP reported 74-year-old Joseph Labroad of Palmer died after being struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by 33-year-old Nicole Mantanes of Palmer. The driver left the scene but was located soon after. She faces seven counts including: OUI Liquor 2nd offense, negligent operation of a MV, marked lanes violation, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury/ death, motor vehicle homicide, speeding, and inspection sticker violation.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this street is under local jurisdiction. This stretch of North Main Street is two-way, with 1 travel lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side of the road up to Wright Street, and on one side after it. There are no crosswalks at 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 2021 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: 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

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).