Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

176 CRASHES IN
CHICOPEE, MA
MAY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstMay 2022

In May 2023, CHICOPEE experienced 176 total crashes, an increase from 161 crashes in May 2022, representing a 9.32% rise. The most significant year-over-year shift was in fatalities, which increased from 0 in May 2022 to 3 in May 2023. Total injuries also rose from 47 to 57 during the same period.

176

9.3%was 161

Total Crash Events

3

Persons Killed

57

21.3%was 47

Persons Injured

40

60.0%was 25

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (3) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (1) 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 · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for CHICOPEE indicates an upward trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 9.32%, from 161 in May 2022 to 176 in May 2023. This rise was accompanied by an increase in total fatalities from 0 to 3 and total injuries from 47 to 57.

40

Hit-and-Run Crashes — May 2023

60.0% vs prior (25)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly year-over-year, rising from 25 in May 2022 to 40 in May 2023. The hit-and-run rate also trended upward, increasing from 15.5% of total crashes in May 2022 to 22.7% in May 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

3

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

3

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 250.0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 1100.0%

52

Motorists Injured

Prior: 4418.2%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns for crashes shifted between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Thursday with 32 crashes in May 2022 to Tuesday with 35 crashes in May 2023. The peak hour also shifted from 5 PM with 19 crashes in May 2022 to 4 PM with 20 crashes in May 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution saw a notable increase in fatal outcomes, with 3 total fatalities and 1 fatal crash in May 2023, compared to 0 fatalities and 0 fatal crashes in May 2022. Serious injury crashes increased from 2 (1.2% share) to 5 (2.8% share). Total injuries rose from 47 persons to 57 persons year-over-year.

Severity is per crash event (most severe injury). 1 fatal crash events resulted in 3 persons killed.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.6%
Serious Injury5serious injury crashes2.8%
150.0%prior 2
Minor Injury22minor injury crashes12.5%
10.0%prior 20
Possible Injury16possible injury crashes9.1%
6.7%prior 15
No Injury120no injury crashes68.2%
4.3%prior 115

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' increased by 7 crashes, from 39 to 46. 'Inattention' crashes rose by 8, from 22 to 30, maintaining its second rank. 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' saw a significant increase of 7 crashes, from 9 to 16, moving from fifth to fourth in ranking.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving46 (26.1%)17.9%prior 39
Inattention30 (17%)36.4%prior 22
Followed too closely19 (10.8%)35.7%prior 14
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road16 (9.1%)77.8%prior 9
Failed to yield right of way10 (5.7%)-23.1%prior 13
Other improper action8 (4.5%)0.0%prior 8
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner7 (4%)40.0%prior 5
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings6 (3.4%)0.0%prior 6
Made an improper turn4 (2.3%)
Distracted3 (1.7%)-62.5%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 113 in May 2022 to 138 in May 2023, while 'Cloudy' weather crashes decreased from 24 to 14. Crashes during 'Daylight' conditions rose from 138 to 146. Crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces increased from 142 to 157, and on 'Wet' surfaces from 15 to 19.

Weather

Clear138 (78.4%)
22.1%prior 113
Cloudy14 (8.0%)
-41.7%prior 24
Rain9 (5.1%)
50.0%prior 6
Clear/Cloudy5 (2.8%)
-16.7%prior 6
Clear/Unknown3 (1.7%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (1.1%)
Cloudy/Rain2 (1.1%)
Cloudy/Unknown1 (0.6%)
Rain/Clear1 (0.6%)
Cloudy/Clear1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight146 (83.4%)
5.8%prior 138
Dark - lighted roadway21 (12.0%)
40.0%prior 15
Dark - roadway not lighted5 (2.9%)
Dusk2 (1.1%)
Dawn1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry157 (89.2%)
10.6%prior 142
Wet19 (10.8%)
26.7%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 301 in May 2022 to 335 in May 2023. The top vehicle make, FORD, saw a substantial increase from 26 vehicles in May 2022 to 42 in May 2023, moving from fourth to first rank. TOYOTA vehicles involved decreased from 38 to 30.

Top Vehicle Makes (335 vehicles)

1
FORD42 (12.5%)
61.5%prior 26
2
HONDA41 (12.2%)
5.1%prior 39
3
TOYOTA30 (9%)
-21.1%prior 38
4
CHEVROLET27 (8.1%)
80.0%prior 15
5
NISSAN24 (7.2%)
-7.7%prior 26
6
HYUNDAI23 (6.9%)
27.8%prior 18
7
DODGE12 (3.6%)
9.1%prior 11
8
ACURA10 (3%)
42.9%prior 7
9
JEEP10 (3%)
-23.1%prior 13
10
BMW8 (2.4%)
14.3%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Vehicle unit records

73 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.

Sex Distribution (355 persons with recorded sex)

Male207 (58.3%)
6.7%prior 194
Female148 (41.7%)
7.2%prior 138

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased from 39 in May 2022 to 68 in May 2023. Conversely, crashes in the 55 mph zone decreased from 19 to 9. Notably, the 55 mph zone recorded 1 fatal crash in May 2023, which was not present in May 2022.

Fatal crashes by zone: 55 mph: 1 of 9 (11.111%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31 · 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: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-05-01 through 2023-05-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: CHICOPEE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 176
  • Total persons involved: 439
  • Total vehicles involved: 335

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). "CHICOPEE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: May 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-05-01 to 2023-05-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/chicopee/may-2023-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

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Chicopee, MA Crash Report — May 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com