ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · BOSTON, MA · APRIL 2024
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/boston/april-2024-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
487 CRASHES IN
BOSTON, MA
APRIL 2024
In April 2024, Boston experienced 487 crashes, a 2.1% increase compared to 477 crashes in April 2023. Total fatalities saw a significant increase, rising from 1 in April 2023 to 2 in April 2024, representing a 100% increase year-over-year. Injuries also increased by 10.2%, from 187 to 206.
487
▲ 2.1%was 477
Total Crash Events
2
▲ 100.0%was 1
Persons Killed
206
▲ 10.2%was 187
Persons Injured
71
▲ 9.2%was 65
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 12 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall crash trends in Boston show an increase year-over-year for April. Total crashes rose by 2.1%, from 477 in April 2023 to 487 in April 2024. This period also saw a notable 100% increase in fatalities, rising from 1 to 2, and a 10.2% increase in injuries, from 187 to 206.
71
Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2024
▲ 9.2% vs prior (65)
Hit-and-run incidents showed an upward trend year-over-year. The number of hit-and-run crashes increased from 65 in April 2023 to 71 in April 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate also rose from 13.6% of all crashes to 14.6%.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
0
Pedestrians Killed
0
Cyclists Killed
1
Motorists Killed
1
Other Killed
10
Pedestrians Injured
6
Cyclists Injured
188
Motorists Injured
2
Other Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The temporal distribution of crashes showed some shifts year-over-year. The peak day for crashes moved from Sunday in April 2023 (91 crashes) to Tuesday in April 2024 (79 crashes). Sunday crashes decreased by 24.2% from 91 to 69, while Tuesday crashes increased by 38.6% from 57 to 79. The peak hour remained 4 p.m. in both periods, with a slight increase from 35 crashes in April 2023 to 38 crashes in April 2024.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
The fatal crash rate nearly doubled, increasing from 0.21% in April 2023 to 0.41% in April 2024. While the number of fatal crashes rose from 1 to 2, serious injury crashes (severity 'A') decreased from 10 to 7, a 30% reduction. Minor injury crashes (severity 'B') increased slightly from 79 to 81, and possible injury crashes (severity 'C') rose from 47 to 56.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
Among contributing factors, 'Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings' saw a substantial increase, rising from 20 crashes in April 2023 to 39 crashes in April 2024, a 95% increase in count. Conversely, crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' decreased by 6 counts, from 67 to 61. 'No improper driving' remained the most frequent reported factor, with 88 crashes in April 2024 compared to 89 in April 2023.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
The distribution of crashes by conditions showed some shifts. Crashes occurring in 'Daylight' increased from 256 in April 2023 to 294 in April 2024, while crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' decreased from 156 to 132. Crashes during 'Clear' weather remained largely stable, with 311 in April 2024 compared to 313 in April 2023. Crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased slightly from 82 to 78.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The top vehicle makes involved in crashes saw some changes, with Toyota remaining the most frequent, increasing from 177 in April 2023 to 190 in April 2024. Ford-involved crashes rose by 15.6% from 90 to 104, while Honda-involved crashes decreased by 3.2% from 158 to 153. In terms of person demographics, involvement of the 16-20 age group increased from 67 to 79, and the 35-44 age group increased from 192 to 225.
Top Vehicle Makes (987 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Vehicle unit records
197 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (1,052 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 165 in April 2023 to 182 in April 2024. This speed zone also saw an increase in fatal crashes, rising from 1 to 2, resulting in its fatal crash rate nearly doubling from 0.606% to 1.099%. No other speed zones recorded fatal crashes in either period.
Fatal crashes by zone: 25 mph: 2 of 182 (1.099%)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30 · Posted speed limit at crash location
Data Sources & Methodology
Primary Data Source
All crash data in this report is sourced from Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), accessed programmatically via the Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SODA). This dataset contains official police-reported motor vehicle traffic crash records maintained by the reporting jurisdiction's law enforcement agency. Records are published to the open data portal by the municipality and are subject to the portal's terms of use.
Data Retrieval
- Access method: Arcgis_yearly Open Data API (SoQL queries)
- Data format: Structured JSON via REST API
- Record types queried: Crash events, person records, and vehicle unit records
- Date filter applied: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2024-04-01 through 2024-04-30 (30 days)
- Geographic scope: BOSTON, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 487
- Total persons involved: 1,265
- Total vehicles involved: 987
Analytical Methodology
- Severity classification: Uses the KABCO injury scale (K=Fatal, A=Incapacitating injury, B=Non-incapacitating injury, C=Possible injury, O=No injury/property damage only), the standard classification in U.S. Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC). Severity is assigned per crash event based on the most severe injury in that crash. A single fatal crash (K) may involve multiple fatalities; therefore the "Persons Killed" count in the headline KPIs may differ from the "Fatal" crash count in the severity breakdown.
- Contributing factors: Reflect the officer-determined primary contributory cause recorded at the time of the crash report. These are preliminary determinations and may not reflect final investigation findings.
- Hit-and-run classification: Based on the hit-and-run indicator field in the official crash report, as determined by the responding officer at the scene.
- Temporal analysis: Day-of-week and hour-of-day distributions are computed from the crash date/time timestamp in each record.
- Demographics: Age and sex distributions are drawn from person-level records linked to each crash event. A single crash may involve multiple persons.
- Vehicle data: Make information is drawn from vehicle unit records linked to each crash event.
- AI commentary: Narrative sections are generated by Google Gemini (large language model) based on the structured data. Commentary is descriptive, not predictive, and should not be interpreted as expert opinion.
Limitations & Disclaimers
- Only crashes reported to and documented by law enforcement are included. Minor incidents, unreported crashes, and near-misses are not captured in this dataset.
- Data reflects conditions at the time of the initial police report and may be subject to subsequent corrections, reclassifications, or supplements by the reporting agency.
- Open data portal records may experience a publication lag - recently occurring crashes may not yet appear in the dataset at the time of report generation.
- AI-generated commentary is produced by a large language model and is intended to highlight patterns in the data. It does not constitute legal, medical, or professional analysis.
- Percentages are calculated from reported data and are subject to rounding.
Non-Affiliation Disclosure
This report is produced independently by ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in partnership with any law enforcement agency, municipal government, state department of transportation, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data is sourced from publicly available government open data portals.
Data License
The underlying crash data is provided under the municipality's Open Data Terms of Use and is made available to the public for unrestricted use. This analysis and report is © 2026 Injuria.ai and may be cited with attribution using the suggested citation below.
Corrections & Feedback
If you believe any data in this report is inaccurate or have questions about our methodology, please contact: data@injuria.ai. We are committed to accuracy and will issue corrections promptly.
Suggested Citation
ThatCarHitMe.com (Injuria.ai). "BOSTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2024-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/boston/april-2024-report
About the Publisher
ThatCarHitMe.com is a crash data intelligence platform developed by Injuria.ai, a legal technology company specializing in traffic safety analytics. We aggregate and analyze publicly available government crash data to produce structured intelligence reports for communities, researchers, journalists, and legal professionals. Our reports combine programmatic data retrieval from official open data portals with AI-assisted narrative analysis.
Questions about this report's data or methodology: data@injuria.ai
ThatCarHitMe.com · An Injuria.ai Company
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2024-04-01 – 2024-04-30
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved