Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

11 CRASHES IN
NORFOLK, MA
APRIL 2026

All metrics benchmarked againstApril 2025

Total crashes in April 2026 were 11, marking a 57.14% increase compared to the 7 crashes recorded in April 2025. This period also saw an increase in injuries, from 0 in April 2025 to 1 in April 2026. The most notable shift was the overall rise in crash incidents, accompanied by the emergence of DUI, speeding, and hit-and-run crashes, each recorded at 1 incident in April 2026, compared to none in the prior year.

11

57.1%was 7

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

1

Persons Injured

1

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.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend for April shows a significant increase in crash incidents year-over-year. Total crashes rose from 7 in April 2025 to 11 in April 2026, representing a 57.14% increase. This indicates a worsening trend in crash frequency for the period.

1

Hit-and-Run Crashes — April 2026

9.1% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Injured

Prior: 0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Friday in April 2025, which saw 2 incidents, to Monday and Wednesday in April 2026, both recording 3 crashes. The peak hour also shifted, with April 2025 experiencing a peak of 2 crashes at 2 PM, while April 2026 recorded 2 crashes at 1 PM. Notably, crashes on Monday increased from 0 to 3, and on Thursday from 0 to 2, indicating a shift in crash distribution across the week.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury1minor injury crashes9.1%
No Injury10no injury crashes90.9%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Contributing factors saw notable changes in prevalence. Crashes attributed to "Failed to yield right of way" increased by 100%, from 1 in April 2025 to 2 in April 2026. Conversely, "No improper driving" incidents decreased from 2 to 1. "Inattention," which was the leading factor in April 2025 with 3 crashes, was not a listed factor in April 2026, while "Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road" emerged as the top factor in April 2026 with 3 crashes.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (27.3%)
Followed too closely2 (18.2%)
Failed to yield right of way2 (18.2%)
No improper driving1 (9.1%)
Visibility obstructed1 (9.1%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Regarding weather conditions, April 2026 reported no crashes under adverse conditions like rain or snow, compared to April 2025 which had 2 crashes under such conditions (1 rain, 1 snow). However, crashes occurring during "Dark - roadway not lighted" conditions increased from 0 in April 2025 to 2 in April 2026. The data for road surface conditions is not available for April 2026, preventing a comparison with April 2025, which reported 4 dry and 2 wet road surface crashes.

Weather

Clear5 (45.5%)
Clear/Clear4 (36.4%)
Cloudy2 (18.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight7 (63.6%)
16.7%prior 6
Dark - roadway not lighted2 (18.2%)
Dark - lighted roadway1 (9.1%)
Dawn1 (9.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Lighting condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (19 vehicles)

1
SUBARU2 (10.5%)
2
FORD2 (10.5%)
3
TOYOTA2 (10.5%)
4
HONDA1 (5.3%)
5
JEEP1 (5.3%)
6
KIA1 (5.3%)
7
MAZDA1 (5.3%)
8
NISSAN1 (5.3%)
9
RAM1 (5.3%)
10
TESL1 (5.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (19 persons with recorded sex)

Male10 (52.6%)
66.7%prior 6
Female9 (47.4%)
0.0%prior 9

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 1 in April 2025 to 2 in April 2026. Similarly, crashes in 35 mph speed zones increased from 4 to 5 incidents year-over-year. The number of crashes in 30 mph speed zones remained stable at 2 for both periods. No fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone for either period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30 · 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: 2026-04-01 through 2026-04-30
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2026-04-01 through 2026-04-30 (30 days)
  • Geographic scope: NORFOLK, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 11
  • Total persons involved: 21
  • Total vehicles involved: 19

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). "NORFOLK, MA Crash Intelligence Report: April 2026." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2026-04-01 to 2026-04-30. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/norfolk/april-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

Norfolk, MA Crash Report — April 2026 | ThatCarHitMe.com