Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

108 CRASHES IN
FITCHBURG, MA
JULY 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2022

Total crashes in Fitchburg, MA increased from 81 in July 2022 to 108 in July 2023, marking a 33.33% rise. The most notable year-over-year shift was the significant increase in hit-and-run crashes, which rose from 1 to 11 incidents.

108

33.3%was 81

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

35

34.6%was 26

Persons Injured

11

1000.0%was 1

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. 7 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in Fitchburg, MA show a significant upward trend year-over-year. Total crashes increased by 33.33%, rising from 81 in July 2022 to 108 in July 2023.

11

Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2023

1000.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased dramatically from 1 in July 2022 to 11 in July 2023, representing a 1000% increase in count. The hit-and-run rate rose from 1.2% of total crashes in July 2022 to 10.2% in July 2023, indicating a significant upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

1

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

34

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2536.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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 Tuesday in July 2022, with 15 crashes, to Monday in July 2023, with 23 crashes. The peak hour remained 4 PM for both periods, recording 9 crashes in July 2022 and 10 crashes in July 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities decreased from 1 in July 2022 to 0 in July 2023, representing a 100% reduction in total fatalities. Total injuries increased by 34.62%, from 26 in July 2022 to 35 in July 2023, with minor injuries rising from 11 (13.6% share) to 17 (15.7% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes0.9%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury17minor injury crashes15.7%
54.5%prior 11
Possible Injury7possible injury crashes6.5%
0.0%prior 7
No Injury76no injury crashes70.4%
43.4%prior 53

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased from 9 in July 2022 to 21 in July 2023, a 133.33% rise in count. 'No improper driving' also saw an increase from 16 to 21 crashes, a 31.25% change in count, while 'Failed to yield right of way' remained constant at 13 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention21 (19.4%)133.3%prior 9
No improper driving21 (19.4%)31.3%prior 16
Failed to yield right of way13 (12%)0.0%prior 13
Followed too closely7 (6.5%)-22.2%prior 9
Other improper action5 (4.6%)-50.0%prior 10
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (3.7%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (2.8%)-40.0%prior 5
Made an improper turn3 (2.8%)
Distracted3 (2.8%)
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 70 in July 2022 to 85 in July 2023. Crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces saw a substantial increase, rising from 4 in July 2022 to 17 in July 2023, a 325% increase in count.

Weather

Clear85 (79.4%)
21.4%prior 70
Rain12 (11.2%)
Cloudy4 (3.7%)
-33.3%prior 6
Cloudy/Rain4 (3.7%)
Clear/Unknown2 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight87 (83.7%)
35.9%prior 64
Dark - lighted roadway13 (12.5%)
18.2%prior 11
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (1.9%)
Dusk1 (1.0%)
Other1 (1.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry88 (82.2%)
17.3%prior 75
Wet17 (15.9%)
Water (standing, moving)2 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 147 in July 2022 to 209 in July 2023. Toyota remained the top make involved in crashes, increasing from 25 to 28, while Honda also saw an increase from 16 to 25. The age group 26-34 consistently represented the highest number of persons involved in crashes, increasing from 25 in July 2022 to 48 in July 2023.

Top Vehicle Makes (209 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA28 (13.4%)
12.0%prior 25
2
HONDA25 (12%)
56.3%prior 16
3
NISSAN20 (9.6%)
42.9%prior 14
4
FORD20 (9.6%)
66.7%prior 12
5
SUBARU17 (8.1%)
112.5%prior 8
6
CHEVROLET17 (8.1%)
13.3%prior 15
7
HYUNDAI10 (4.8%)
8
DODGE8 (3.8%)
9
JEEP7 (3.3%)
-41.7%prior 12
10
KIA6 (2.9%)
20.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (227 persons with recorded sex)

Male130 (57.3%)
66.7%prior 78
Female96 (42.3%)
43.3%prior 67
X / Unspecified1 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 MPH speed zones increased from 42 in July 2022 to 58 in July 2023. Fatal crashes, which were 1 at a 55 MPH speed limit in July 2022, were not reported in any speed zone in July 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: FITCHBURG, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 108
  • Total persons involved: 259
  • Total vehicles involved: 209

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: July 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/fitchburg/july-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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Fitchburg, MA Crash Report — July 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com