Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

12 CRASHES IN
HAMPDEN, MA
JANUARY 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstJanuary 2023

In January 2024, HAMPDEN experienced 12 crashes, a 50% increase compared to the 8 crashes recorded in January 2023. A significant change was the occurrence of 1 fatality in January 2024, whereas no fatalities were reported in January 2023.

12

50.0%was 8

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

1

Persons Injured

2

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

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

Trend Summary

Overall, crash incidents in HAMPDEN increased year-over-year, with total crashes rising by 50% from 8 in January 2023 to 12 in January 2024. This period also saw an increase in severe outcomes, with 1 fatality and 1 injury reported in January 2024, compared to no fatalities or injuries in January 2023.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — January 2024

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run incidents increased year-over-year, with the number of hit-and-run crashes rising from 1 in January 2023 to 2 in January 2024. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate increased from 12.5% of all crashes in the prior period to 16.7% in the current period, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

1

Motorists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · 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 year-over-year, with the peak day moving from Sunday in January 2023 (3 crashes) to Tuesday in January 2024 (4 crashes). The peak hour for crashes also changed, occurring at 7 PM with 3 crashes in January 2023, and shifting to 5 PM with 2 crashes in January 2024.

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

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

Crash Severity Breakdown

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes8.3%
No Injury9no injury crashes75%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-31 · Severity derived from reported fatal/injury indicators (no KABCO A/B/C codes)

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

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

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor, 'No improper driving,' increased from 3 crashes (37.5% share) in January 2023 to 5 crashes (41.7% share) in January 2024, representing a 66.7% rise in count. 'Inattention' emerged as a contributing factor in January 2024 with 2 crashes, while it was not a top factor in the prior year. Conversely, 'Other improper action' accounted for 2 crashes (25% share) in January 2023 but was not among the top contributing factors in January 2024.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving5 (41.7%)
Inattention2 (16.7%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (8.3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (8.3%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway1 (8.3%)

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

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash conditions saw notable shifts year-over-year; crashes in clear weather decreased from 6 in January 2023 to 2 in January 2024. Concurrently, crashes in snowy conditions increased from 0 to 3, and icy conditions from 0 to 1. Regarding lighting, crashes in daylight conditions increased from 3 to 6, and in dark - lighted roadway conditions from 4 to 5.

Weather

Snow3 (25.0%)
Rain2 (16.7%)
Clear2 (16.7%)
-66.7%prior 6
Rain/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (8.3%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (8.3%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (8.3%)
Clear/Unknown1 (8.3%)
Cloudy1 (8.3%)

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

Lighting

Daylight6 (50.0%)
Dark - lighted roadway5 (41.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (8.3%)

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

Road Surface

Dry4 (33.3%)
Wet4 (33.3%)
Snow3 (25.0%)
Ice1 (8.3%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (17 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA3 (17.6%)
2
DODGE2 (11.8%)
3
HONDA2 (11.8%)
4
FORD2 (11.8%)
5
CHEVROLET1 (5.9%)
6
VOLKSWAGEN1 (5.9%)
7
GENS1 (5.9%)
8
HYUNDAI1 (5.9%)
9
LEX1 (5.9%)
10
RAM1 (5.9%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (11 persons with recorded sex)

Male7 (63.6%)
40.0%prior 5
Female4 (36.4%)
-20.0%prior 5

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

Speed Limit Zones

The distribution of crashes across speed zones saw some changes; crashes in the 30 mph zone remained constant at 4 for both periods. Crashes in the 35 mph zone increased from 1 in January 2023 to 2 in January 2024, with this zone also recording the only fatal crash in the current period. Additionally, 2 crashes occurred in the 25 mph zone in January 2024, where none were reported in the prior year.

Fatal crashes by zone: 35 mph: 1 of 2 (50%)

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-01-01 through 2024-01-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: HAMPDEN, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 12
  • Total persons involved: 18
  • Total vehicles involved: 17

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

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Hampden, MA Crash Report — January 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com