Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

165 CRASHES IN
NEWTON, MA
SEPTEMBER 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2024

Total crashes in NEWTON for September 2025 were 165, an increase from 134 crashes in September 2024. This represents a 23.1% rise in overall crashes year-over-year. A notable shift is the increase in pedestrian crashes from 0 in September 2024 to 5 in September 2025.

165

23.1%was 134

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

43

48.3%was 29

Persons Injured

21

5.0%was 20

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 · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a rising number of crashes year-over-year in September. Total crashes increased by 31, from 134 in September 2024 to 165 in September 2025, marking a 23.1% increase.

21

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2025

5.0% vs prior (20)

The number of hit-and-run crashes slightly increased from 20 in September 2024 to 21 in September 2025. However, the hit-and-run crash rate decreased from 14.9% of all crashes in September 2024 to 12.7% in September 2025. This indicates a decrease in the proportion of hit-and-run incidents relative to the total number of crashes.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

4

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 0%

2

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 5-60.0%

35

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2445.8%

2

Other Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Thursday in both periods, with 39 crashes in September 2025 compared to 28 in September 2024. However, the peak hour shifted from 1 p.m. with 15 crashes in September 2024 to 7 a.m. with 17 crashes in September 2025.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Neither period recorded any fatal crashes, maintaining a fatal rate of 0. The proportion of crashes resulting in injuries (serious, minor, or possible) increased from 21.6% in September 2024 to 26.1% in September 2025. Serious injuries (code A) increased from 1 crash (0.7% share) to 2 crashes (1.2% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury2serious injury crashes1.2%
100.0%prior 1
Minor Injury24minor injury crashes14.5%
33.3%prior 18
Possible Injury8possible injury crashes4.8%
60.0%prior 5
No Injury121no injury crashes73.3%
17.5%prior 103

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Inattention remained the top contributing factor, increasing from 47 crashes in September 2024 to 49 crashes in September 2025. Followed too closely saw a significant increase in count, from 13 crashes in September 2024 to 26 crashes in September 2025, and moved from the third to the second most frequent factor. Failed to yield right of way also increased from 12 crashes to 17 crashes year-over-year.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention49 (29.7%)4.3%prior 47
Followed too closely26 (15.8%)100.0%prior 13
No improper driving21 (12.7%)0.0%prior 21
Failed to yield right of way17 (10.3%)41.7%prior 12
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (3%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road4 (2.4%)-50.0%prior 8
Other improper action4 (2.4%)
Distracted4 (2.4%)
Made an improper turn3 (1.8%)
Illness2 (1.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in clear weather conditions increased from 108 in September 2024 to 136 in September 2025. Similarly, crashes on dry road surfaces rose from 122 to 140, and crashes during daylight hours increased from 111 to 140. Crashes in wet road conditions also increased, from 12 in September 2024 to 22 in September 2025.

Weather

Clear114 (69.9%)
15.2%prior 99
Clear/Clear22 (13.5%)
144.4%prior 9
Rain13 (8.0%)
44.4%prior 9
Cloudy8 (4.9%)
-38.5%prior 13
Cloudy/Rain3 (1.8%)
Other/Rain1 (0.6%)
Cloudy/Cloudy1 (0.6%)
Rain/Cloudy1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight140 (85.4%)
26.1%prior 111
Dark - lighted roadway20 (12.2%)
17.6%prior 17
Dusk2 (1.2%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (0.6%)
Dawn1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry140 (85.9%)
14.8%prior 122
Wet22 (13.5%)
83.3%prior 12
Other1 (0.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased from 244 in September 2024 to 310 in September 2025. Toyota remained the top make involved, with counts rising from 41 to 54, followed by Honda, which increased from 35 to 44. The 0-15 age group saw a decrease in persons involved from 56 to 46, while the 65+ age group increased from 36 to 53.

Top Vehicle Makes (310 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA54 (17.4%)
31.7%prior 41
2
HONDA44 (14.2%)
25.7%prior 35
3
FORD23 (7.4%)
9.5%prior 21
4
CHEVROLET16 (5.2%)
60.0%prior 10
5
SUBARU15 (4.8%)
87.5%prior 8
6
JEEP14 (4.5%)
133.3%prior 6
7
MERCEDES-BENZ11 (3.5%)
83.3%prior 6
8
VOLVO10 (3.2%)
66.7%prior 6
9
TESL9 (2.9%)
28.6%prior 7
10
NISSAN9 (2.9%)
-40.0%prior 15

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (387 persons with recorded sex)

Male194 (50.1%)
6.6%prior 182
Female193 (49.9%)
53.2%prior 126

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

The 25 mph speed zone continued to account for the highest number of crashes, increasing from 60 in September 2024 to 86 in September 2025. Crashes in the 55 mph zone slightly decreased from 20 to 19 year-over-year. Overall, the distribution of crashes by speed zone indicates a continued concentration in lower speed limit areas, with increases observed across several zones.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30 · 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: 2025-09-01 through 2025-09-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-09-01 through 2025-09-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NEWTON, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 165
  • Total persons involved: 428
  • Total vehicles involved: 310

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). "NEWTON, MA Crash Intelligence Report: September 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-09-01 to 2025-09-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/newton/september-2025-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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Newton, MA Crash Report — September 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com