Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

24 CRASHES IN
FREETOWN, MA
JULY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJuly 2023

FREETOWN experienced a substantial increase in crash activity in July 2024 compared to July 2023, with total crashes rising from 10 to 24, a 140% increase. This period also saw a critical shift with one fatality recorded in July 2024, whereas July 2023 had no fatalities.

24

140.0%was 10

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

9

800.0%was 1

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 1

Hit-and-Run Crashes

Note: "Persons Killed" (1) 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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash trends in FREETOWN show a significant increase year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 140% from 10 in July 2023 to 24 in July 2024. This increase was accompanied by a rise in total injuries from 1 to 9, and the occurrence of 1 fatality in July 2024, compared to none in July 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

9

Motorists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal distribution of crashes shifted significantly year-over-year; July 2024's peak crash day was Tuesday with 11 crashes, a change from Wednesday's peak of 4 crashes in July 2023. The peak crash hour also shifted from 7 PM in July 2023 (2 crashes) to 3 PM in July 2024 (4 crashes), indicating a change in peak activity times.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Crash severity saw a notable increase, with July 2024 recording 1 fatal crash and 1 fatality, compared to no fatal crashes or fatalities in July 2023. The proportion of injury-involved crashes also rose, with 7 minor injuries and 1 possible injury in July 2024, while July 2023 reported only 1 serious injury.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes4.2%
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes20.8%
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes4.2%
No Injury17no injury crashes70.8%
88.9%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Comparing contributing factors, 'No improper driving' remained the most frequent factor with 5 crashes in both periods. 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' saw a 300% increase in count, rising from 1 crash in July 2023 to 4 crashes in July 2024, while 'Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road' decreased by 1 crash, from 2 to 1. Factors like 'Inattention' and 'Exceeded authorized speed limit' appeared in July 2024 with 3 and 2 crashes respectively, but were not listed in the prior period's top factors.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (20.8%)0.0%prior 5
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (16.7%)
Inattention3 (12.5%)
Visibility obstructed2 (8.3%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit2 (8.3%)
Followed too closely2 (8.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (4.2%)
Operating defective equipment1 (4.2%)
Failed to yield right of way1 (4.2%)
Other improper action1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 8 in July 2023 to 21 in July 2024, representing a 162.5% rise. Crashes in dark conditions also saw a substantial increase, climbing from 2 to 7. Notably, crashes on wet road surfaces, which were absent in July 2023, accounted for 4 crashes in July 2024.

Weather

Clear21 (87.5%)
162.5%prior 8
Cloudy/Rain2 (8.3%)
Rain1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight16 (66.7%)
100.0%prior 8
Dark - roadway not lighted7 (29.2%)
Dusk1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry19 (79.2%)
111.1%prior 9
Wet4 (16.7%)
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (4.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (35 vehicles)

1
FORD6 (17.1%)
2
JEEP4 (11.4%)
3
FRHT3 (8.6%)
4
TOYOTA3 (8.6%)
5
CHEVROLET3 (8.6%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN2 (5.7%)
7
GMC2 (5.7%)
8
HONDA2 (5.7%)
9
SUBARU2 (5.7%)
10
HYUNDAI1 (2.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Vehicle unit records

Sex Distribution (38 persons with recorded sex)

Male26 (68.4%)
188.9%prior 9
Female12 (31.6%)
200.0%prior 4

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Analysis of speed zones reveals that crashes in the 15 mph zone increased from 1 in July 2023 to 2 in July 2024, with the current period also reporting 1 fatal crash in this zone. Conversely, crashes in the 30 mph zone decreased from 4 to 2, while the 65 mph zone maintained 3 crashes in both periods. Crashes were also reported in 10, 20, 25, 35, and 40 mph zones in July 2024, which were not present in the prior period's data.

Fatal crashes by zone: 15 mph: 1 of 2 (50%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31 · 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: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-07-01 through 2024-07-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: FREETOWN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 24
  • Total persons involved: 38
  • Total vehicles involved: 35

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). "FREETOWN, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2024-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/freetown/july-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

Freetown, MA Crash Report — July 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com