Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

135 CRASHES IN
FITCHBURG, MA
FEBRUARY 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2024

In February 2025, FITCHBURG recorded 135 crashes, an increase from 97 crashes in February 2024, representing a 39.18% rise year-over-year. Total injuries increased by 14.29% from 14 to 16. The most notable shift was a 100% increase in hit-and-run crashes, rising from 12 to 24.

135

39.2%was 97

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

16

14.3%was 14

Persons Injured

24

100.0%was 12

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (0) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (0) counts crash events where at least one fatality occurred. A single crash can result in multiple fatalities. 22 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for FITCHBURG indicates an upward trend year-over-year, with total crashes increasing by 39.18% from 97 in February 2024 to 135 in February 2025. This rise suggests an increase in overall crash incidents compared to the prior year.

24

Hit-and-Run Crashes — February 2025

100.0% vs prior (12)

Hit-and-run crashes increased substantially year-over-year, rising by 100% from 12 incidents in February 2024 to 24 incidents in February 2025. Correspondingly, the hit-and-run rate increased from 12.4% of all crashes in the prior period to 17.8% in the current period, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

16

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1414.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Thursday in February 2024 (17 crashes) to Tuesday in February 2025 (23 crashes). The peak hour also changed, moving from 5 PM with 11 crashes in the prior period to 3 PM with 16 crashes in the current period. While both periods show crashes distributed throughout the week and day, the specific highest frequency times have varied.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either February 2024 or February 2025. Total injuries increased from 14 to 16 year-over-year. The proportion of minor injury crashes decreased from 11.3% (11 crashes) in February 2024 to 7.4% (10 crashes) in February 2025, while possible injury crashes remained relatively stable at 3.1% (3 crashes) and 3% (4 crashes) respectively.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury10minor injury crashes7.4%
-9.1%prior 11
Possible Injury4possible injury crashes3%
33.3%prior 3
No Injury99no injury crashes73.3%
32.0%prior 75

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factors saw shifts in both counts and rankings. 'No improper driving' increased by 10 crashes (from 26 to 36), while 'Inattention' rose by 9 crashes (from 19 to 28). Notably, 'Other improper action' saw a significant increase from 1 crash in February 2024 to 8 crashes in February 2025. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased by 4 crashes (from 10 to 6), and 'Followed too closely' decreased by 3 crashes (from 9 to 6).

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving36 (26.7%)38.5%prior 26
Inattention28 (20.7%)47.4%prior 19
Other improper action8 (5.9%)
Failed to yield right of way6 (4.4%)-40.0%prior 10
Followed too closely6 (4.4%)-33.3%prior 9
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (3.7%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings4 (3%)
Driving too fast for conditions3 (2.2%)
Over-correcting/over-steering3 (2.2%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (1.5%)-60.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Adverse road surface conditions, including snow, wet, ice, and slush, contributed to a significantly higher proportion of crashes in February 2025 (61 crashes, or 45.2% of total crashes) compared to February 2024 (9 crashes, or 9.3% of total crashes). Crashes occurring in snow conditions increased from 2 in the prior period to 23 in the current period. While daylight remained the most common lighting condition, crashes in 'Dark - lighted roadway' increased from 24 to 27.

Weather

Clear91 (70.0%)
11.0%prior 82
Snow14 (10.8%)
Cloudy7 (5.4%)
-22.2%prior 9
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)5 (3.8%)
Rain2 (1.5%)
Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)/Rain2 (1.5%)
Cloudy/Snow2 (1.5%)
Clear/Snow1 (0.8%)
Snow/Clear1 (0.8%)
Clear/Clear1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight89 (69.0%)
56.1%prior 57
Dark - lighted roadway27 (20.9%)
12.5%prior 24
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (5.4%)
-12.5%prior 8
Dawn3 (2.3%)
Dusk2 (1.6%)
-66.7%prior 6
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry69 (53.1%)
-21.6%prior 88
Snow27 (20.8%)
Wet17 (13.1%)
183.3%prior 6
Ice13 (10.0%)
Slush4 (3.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 173 to 246 year-over-year. Toyota remained the top vehicle make involved in crashes, increasing from 29 to 36, while Ford moved up in ranking with an increase from 19 to 32. Regarding persons involved, the 55-64 age group saw the largest increase, rising from 15 to 29 individuals, and the 21-25 age group increased from 19 to 31 individuals. Conversely, the 16-20 age group saw a decrease from 31 to 26 individuals.

Top Vehicle Makes (246 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA36 (14.6%)
24.1%prior 29
2
FORD32 (13%)
68.4%prior 19
3
HONDA31 (12.6%)
55.0%prior 20
4
SUBARU17 (6.9%)
41.7%prior 12
5
CHEVROLET16 (6.5%)
45.5%prior 11
6
NISSAN11 (4.5%)
37.5%prior 8
7
JEEP8 (3.3%)
33.3%prior 6
8
HYUNDAI8 (3.3%)
33.3%prior 6
9
MAZDA7 (2.8%)
10
VOLKSWAGEN6 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (227 persons with recorded sex)

Male130 (57.3%)
28.7%prior 101
Female97 (42.7%)
22.8%prior 79

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased significantly from 33 in February 2024 to 53 in February 2025. Crashes in the 35 mph zone also rose from 14 to 18. The number of crashes in the 30 mph zone remained stable at 23 for both periods. No fatal crashes were recorded in any speed zone during either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28 · 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: 2025-02-01 through 2025-02-28
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-02-01 through 2025-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: FITCHBURG, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 135
  • Total persons involved: 288
  • Total vehicles involved: 246

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). "FITCHBURG, MA Crash Intelligence Report: February 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-02-01 to 2025-02-28. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/fitchburg/february-2025-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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Fitchburg, MA Crash Report — February 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com