Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

62 CRASHES IN
NATICK, MA
FEBRUARY 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstFebruary 2025

In February 2026, Natick experienced 62 total crashes, a slight increase from the 61 crashes recorded in February 2025, representing a 1.64% rise. The most significant year-over-year shift was in fatalities, which increased from 0 in the prior period to 1 in the current period.

62

1.6%was 61

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

4

-66.7%was 12

Persons Injured

0

-100.0%was 4

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 · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall crash activity remained relatively stable year-over-year, with a minor increase in total crashes from 61 in February 2025 to 62 in February 2026. However, total fatalities increased from 0 to 1, while total injuries decreased significantly from 12 to 4.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 12-66.7%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · 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 Friday with 16 crashes in February 2025 to Saturday with 11 crashes in February 2026. The peak hour also changed, moving from 1 PM with 8 crashes in the prior period to 3 PM with 7 crashes in the current period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The most significant change in crash severity was the emergence of 1 fatal crash in February 2026, compared to 0 fatal crashes in February 2025. Total injuries decreased from 12 in the prior period to 4 in the current period, with minor injuries falling from 6 to 1 and possible injuries from 4 to 2.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes1.6%
Serious Injury1serious injury crashes1.6%
Minor Injury1minor injury crashes1.6%
-83.3%prior 6
Possible Injury2possible injury crashes3.2%
-50.0%prior 4
No Injury57no injury crashes91.9%
18.8%prior 48

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Among contributing factors, 'No improper driving' saw a notable increase in count, rising from 7 crashes in February 2025 to 13 crashes in February 2026, an 85.7% change. 'Failed to yield right of way' also increased from 6 crashes to 10 crashes, a 66.7% change, while 'Followed too closely' decreased from 8 crashes to 7 crashes, a 12.5% change. 'Inattention' remained consistent with 15 crashes in both periods.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention15 (24.2%)0.0%prior 15
No improper driving13 (21%)85.7%prior 7
Failed to yield right of way10 (16.1%)66.7%prior 6
Followed too closely7 (11.3%)-12.5%prior 8
Other improper action4 (6.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (4.8%)-57.1%prior 7
Disregarded traffic signs, signals, road markings2 (3.2%)
Made an improper turn2 (3.2%)
Visibility obstructed2 (3.2%)
Glare1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

In terms of weather conditions, crashes occurring in 'Clear' conditions increased slightly from 45 to 48, while those in 'Snow' conditions rose from 7 to 9. Regarding road surface, 'Dry' conditions saw a minor increase in crashes from 47 to 48, but crashes on 'Snow' surfaces increased from 7 to 11, and 'Wet' surface crashes decreased from 6 to 2. Daylight conditions continued to account for the majority of crashes, though their count decreased from 45 to 42, while crashes in 'Dusk' conditions increased from 1 to 4.

Weather

Clear48 (77.4%)
6.7%prior 45
Snow9 (14.5%)
28.6%prior 7
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (1.6%)
Snow/Blowing sand, snow1 (1.6%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)1 (1.6%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (1.6%)
Cloudy1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight42 (67.7%)
-6.7%prior 45
Dark - lighted roadway12 (19.4%)
0.0%prior 12
Dusk4 (6.5%)
Dark - roadway not lighted3 (4.8%)
Dawn1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry48 (77.4%)
2.1%prior 47
Snow11 (17.7%)
57.1%prior 7
Wet2 (3.2%)
-66.7%prior 6
Slush1 (1.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of persons involved in crashes increased from 137 in February 2025 to 159 in February 2026. There was a significant shift in the age distribution of persons involved, with the 0-15 age group increasing from 7 to 28, and the 16-20 age group rising from 10 to 23. In vehicle makes, HONDA vehicles involved in crashes increased from 9 to 19, making it tied for the top make with TOYOTA, which saw a decrease from 21 to 19.

Top Vehicle Makes (119 vehicles)

1
HONDA19 (16%)
111.1%prior 9
2
TOYOTA19 (16%)
-9.5%prior 21
3
FORD15 (12.6%)
36.4%prior 11
4
VOLKSWAGEN7 (5.9%)
5
NISSAN6 (5%)
0.0%prior 6
6
SUBARU5 (4.2%)
7
BMW5 (4.2%)
-28.6%prior 7
8
PTRB4 (3.4%)
9
HYUNDAI4 (3.4%)
-42.9%prior 7
10
CHEVROLET3 (2.5%)
-50.0%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (154 persons with recorded sex)

Male86 (55.8%)
7.5%prior 80
Female68 (44.2%)
44.7%prior 47

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-28 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone increased substantially from 15 in February 2025 to 27 in February 2026. Conversely, crashes in the 50 mph speed zone decreased from 14 to 7, and in the 65 mph zone from 5 to 1. The current period recorded 1 fatal crash in a 50 mph speed zone, whereas the prior period had no fatal crashes across any speed zone.

Fatal crashes by zone: 50 mph: 1 of 7 (14.286%)

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

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-02-01 through 2026-02-28 (28 days)
  • Geographic scope: NATICK, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 62
  • Total persons involved: 159
  • Total vehicles involved: 119

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

Natick, MA Crash Report — February 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com