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. Earlier this year, we released a year in review for 2021 to highlight common issues.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in July; none were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in August 2022. 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 43 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in August in the MassDOT Crash portal, twelve were identified as people walking.
• The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in August was 54.5.
• 79-year old Joseph Frederick Ardizzoni was struck and killed in a parking lot in Wilmington on August 29th at 1:22pm. This crash is not included in the federal FARS dataset since it does not meet the NHTSA guideline for FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System). “To be included in FARS, a crash must involve a motor vehicle traveling on a traffic way customarily open to the public, and must result in the death of a vehicle occupant or a nonoccupant within 30 days of the crash.”

MassLive reports that a South Hadley man driving a sedan struck and killed Edward Hanlon, Jr., age 81, and Ilona Murray, age 60, as they were crossing Northampton Street in front of a Burger King.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction and a sidewalk on one side of the street. The speed limit is 35mph.

NBC 10 Boston reports that an 88-year old man was struck and seriously injured by a car near the intersection of Walnut Avenue and Seaver Street. Images from the news report and the location on the crash portal map seem to show the crash just beyond the intersection on Columbus Avenue. (Seaver Street becomes Columbus Avenue after it crosses Walnut Avenue.) We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident; the person passed away from the crash. If you have any information, please let us know.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under local jurisdiction. The Google Street View is from July 2019 and does not reflect current conditions; a center running bus lane was added more recently, which can be seen on Google’s overhead view (Screenshot below). There is one general travel lane in each direction, a two way center running bus lane with pedestrian islands on each side for the Walnut Avenue bus stop, and sidewalks on both sides of the street. The speed limit is unclear, with fields showing 25mph and 30mph in the database.

MassLive reports that 27-year old Jamal Mustapha was struck and killed in a hit and run on I-290 by an unknown vehicle, possibly a tractor trailer; he was subsequently struck by other vehicles. None of the vehicles stopped.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are 3 travel lanes in each direction and a median divider. The speed limit is 50mph.

The Boston Globe reports that the driver of a Ford F-150 struck and killed 45-year old Joy Swartzendruber, who was standing outside of her Toyota Avalon on the shoulder of the northbound side of the two-lane highway around 2:30 a.m. The driver sideswiped the Toyota and hit Swartzendruber.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are two travel lane in each direction and a median divider. The speed limit is 65mph.

The Fall River Reporter shares that a driver struck and killed 62-year old Henry O Ejueyitchie as Henry was crossing Plymouth Street in Halifax around 3pm.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction and a sidewalk on one side of the street. The speed limit is 40mph.

WCVB reports that the driver of a 2014 Nissan Maxima struck and killed 45-year old Carlos Vasquez in the leftmost southbound lane near the Essex Street exit of Route 1. State police investigators believe Vasquez was attempting to cross from the area of a Burger King restaurant to the northbound side, where his girlfriend was waiting for him.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are three travel lane in each direction, a median divider, and a sidewalk on each side of the street. The speed limit is 50mph.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that a 62-year old woman was struck and killed as she walked in the breakdown lane of Route 20 in Sturbridge. (News reports indicate this crash was in Sturbridge, while the details in the crash portal from the police report lists Brimfield; the Brimfield / Sturbridge line is near the crash location.) A preliminary investigation revealed the motor vehicle was traveling eastbound when the driver went into the breakdown lane and struck the person walking.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction and a buffered bike lane in each direction. The speed limit is 55mph.

The Boston Globe reports that the driver of a 2001 Toyota Camry struck and killed 53-year old Oscar J. Portillo in the westbound right lane, just west of Vine Street.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Route 16 is under MassDOT jurisdiction, and Vine Street is under local jurisdiction. There are three travel lanes in each direction on Route 16, and an additional left turn lane onto Vine Street. There is a median and a sidewalk on both sides of the street. The speed limit is 35mph.

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, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are three travel lanes in each direction and a median divider. The speed limit is 55mph.

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, this road is under local jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction and a sidewalk on both sides of the street. The speed limit is 30mph.

WCVB reports that a young married couple was crossing the street when they were hit. Eddison Matza, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, Mira Fernanda, 20, is at Boston Medical Center in serious condition.

Witnesses told WCVB the couple was walking across the street after being dropped off when they were hit by a Mercedes sedan, that then was struck by the motorcycles. One of the motorcycles was then hit by another car in the chain reaction crash. 

“Since February it’s like the third accident I’m seeing on the same road,” witness Edmar Gonsalves said. “After I heard everything, I went outside and then what I found was a dead person right in front of my house. I can’t even trust the road. I can’t even trust my neighborhood because of the street over there — people driving crazy.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, this road is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There is one travel lane in each direction and 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 2022 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

Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (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).