Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

85 CRASHES IN
HOLYOKE, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

In August 2024, HOLYOKE experienced 85 crashes, a significant decrease from the 155 crashes recorded in August 2023. This represents a 45.16% reduction in total crashes year-over-year. The most notable shift was in fatalities, with 0 fatalities reported in August 2024 compared to 2 fatalities in August 2023.

85

-45.2%was 155

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 2

Persons Killed

26

-61.2%was 67

Persons Injured

18

-25.0%was 24

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crash data for HOLYOKE shows a falling trend year-over-year. Total crashes decreased by 45.16%, from 155 in August 2023 to 85 in August 2024. Total fatalities also decreased from 2 to 0, and total injuries fell from 67 to 26.

18

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

-25.0% vs prior (24)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 24 in August 2023 to 18 in August 2024. However, the hit-and-run rate increased from 15.5% of total crashes in August 2023 to 21.2% in August 2024, indicating an upward trend in the proportion of crashes involving a hit-and-run.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

23

Motorists Injured

Prior: 63-63.5%

2

Other Injured

Prior: 3-33.3%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted year-over-year. In August 2024, the peak day for crashes was Saturday with 17 incidents, while in August 2023, Tuesday was the peak day with 30 incidents. The peak hour for crashes shifted from 4 PM with 22 incidents in August 2023 to 5 PM with 9 incidents in August 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution shows a notable decrease in severe outcomes. There were no fatal crashes in August 2024, down from 2 fatal crashes in August 2023. Total injuries decreased from 67 to 26, with serious injuries (code A) decreasing from 3 to 2, minor injuries (code B) from 21 to 10, and possible injuries (code C) from 13 to 9.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes2.4%
-33.3%prior 3
Minor Injury10minor injury crashes11.8%
-52.4%prior 21
Possible Injury9possible injury crashes10.6%
-30.8%prior 13
No Injury54no injury crashes63.5%
-48.6%prior 105

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The top contributing factors maintained their ranking, but counts decreased across the board. 'No improper driving' decreased from 64 crashes in August 2023 to 36 crashes in August 2024, a reduction of 28 crashes. 'Inattention' decreased from 15 crashes to 10 crashes, and 'Failed to yield right of way' decreased from 14 crashes to 8 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving36 (42.4%)-43.8%prior 64
Inattention10 (11.8%)-33.3%prior 15
Failed to yield right of way8 (9.4%)-42.9%prior 14
Followed too closely4 (4.7%)-69.2%prior 13
Other improper action2 (2.4%)
Fatigued/asleep2 (2.4%)
Distracted2 (2.4%)
Wrong side or wrong way1 (1.2%)
Glare1 (1.2%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crash counts under various conditions decreased consistent with the overall trend. Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather decreased from 98 to 54, while those on 'Wet' road surfaces decreased from 21 to 6. The proportion of crashes occurring in 'Daylight' increased from 78.7% in August 2023 to 83.5% in August 2024.

Weather

Clear54 (63.5%)
-44.9%prior 98
Clear/Other13 (15.3%)
18.2%prior 11
Cloudy8 (9.4%)
-20.0%prior 10
Clear/Unknown4 (4.7%)
-71.4%prior 14
Rain2 (2.4%)
-80.0%prior 10
Unknown/Other1 (1.2%)
Cloudy/Fog, smog, smoke1 (1.2%)
Cloudy/Other1 (1.2%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (1.2%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight71 (84.5%)
-41.8%prior 122
Dark - lighted roadway10 (11.9%)
-56.5%prior 23
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (2.4%)
Dusk1 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry78 (92.9%)
-41.4%prior 133
Wet6 (7.1%)
-71.4%prior 21

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes, Toyota, Honda, and Ford, remained consistent between both periods, although their counts decreased. Toyota saw a reduction from 52 vehicles in August 2023 to 23 in August 2024, while Honda decreased from 38 to 23. The age distribution of persons involved showed a decrease in the share of the 26-34 age group from 18.6% to 13.9%, and an increase in the 65+ age group's share from 7.6% to 11.0%.

Top Vehicle Makes (161 vehicles)

1
HONDA23 (14.3%)
-39.5%prior 38
2
TOYOTA23 (14.3%)
-55.8%prior 52
3
FORD19 (11.8%)
-45.7%prior 35
4
NISSAN12 (7.5%)
-50.0%prior 24
5
CHEVROLET11 (6.8%)
-38.9%prior 18
6
HYUNDAI11 (6.8%)
-59.3%prior 27
7
JEEP6 (3.7%)
-33.3%prior 9
8
BMW5 (3.1%)
9
DODGE4 (2.5%)
10
ACURA4 (2.5%)
-50.0%prior 8

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (173 persons with recorded sex)

Male94 (54.3%)
-53.5%prior 202
Female79 (45.7%)
-49.0%prior 155

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone decreased from 98 in August 2023 to 49 in August 2024, and the proportion of crashes in this zone decreased from 63.2% to 57.6%. Conversely, the proportion of crashes in the 65 mph speed zone increased from 5.8% to 9.4%, despite the count decreasing from 9 to 8. There were no fatal crashes in any speed zone in August 2024, compared to 2 fatal crashes in the 25 mph zone in August 2023.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: HOLYOKE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 85
  • Total persons involved: 208
  • Total vehicles involved: 161

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). "HOLYOKE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/holyoke/august-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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Holyoke, MA Crash Report — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com