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YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · PALMER, MA · JULY 2023
Purpose: Machine-readable JSON endpoint for AI agents, LLMs, researchers, and programmatic consumers. Returns all underlying crash data and AI-generated commentary without HTML.
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GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/palmer/july-2023-report
Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis
33 CRASHES IN
PALMER, MA
JULY 2023
In PALMER, MA, July 2023 saw a slight increase in total crashes compared to July 2022, rising from 32 to 33, a 3.13% increase. The most significant year-over-year shift was in total fatalities, which increased from 0 in July 2022 to 1 in July 2023, and total injuries, which rose from 4 to 11, a 175% increase.
33
▲ 3.1%was 32
Total Crash Events
1
Persons Killed
11
▲ 175.0%was 4
Persons Injured
5
▲ 66.7%was 3
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 · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall, crashes in PALMER, MA showed a slight upward trend, with total crashes increasing by 3.13% from 32 to 33. This period also experienced a notable rise in total fatalities, going from 0 to 1, and a substantial 175% increase in total injuries, from 4 to 11, indicating a worsening in crash outcomes.
5
Hit-and-Run Crashes — July 2023
▲ 66.7% vs prior (3)
Hit-and-run crashes increased from 3 in July 2022 to 5 in July 2023, representing a 66.67% increase in count. The hit-and-run rate also rose, moving from 9.4% of total crashes in the prior period to 15.2% in the current period, indicating an upward trend in these incidents.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
1
Motorists Killed
11
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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 11 crashes in July 2022 to Thursday with 8 crashes in July 2023. The peak hour also changed, moving from 4 p.m. with 3 crashes in the prior period to 2 p.m. with 4 crashes in the current period, suggesting a shift in peak activity times.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
The severity distribution worsened significantly year-over-year, with 1 fatal crash and 2 serious injury crashes reported in July 2023, compared to 0 in both categories in July 2022. Minor injury crashes also saw a substantial increase, rising from 2 in July 2022 to 7 in July 2023, a 250% increase in count. Consequently, the proportion of 'No Injury' crashes decreased from 81.3% to 66.7%.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
Among contributing factors, 'No improper driving' increased by 3 crashes (33.33% in count) from 9 to 12. Conversely, 'Inattention' decreased by 3 crashes (42.86% in count) from 7 to 4. Factors like 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner', 'Failed to yield right of way', and 'Visibility obstructed' each increased by 1 crash, doubling their counts from 1 to 2.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather decreased by 8 incidents (28.57% in count) from 28 to 20, while crashes during 'Rain' increased by 5 incidents, from 0 to 5. Similarly, crashes on 'Dry' road surfaces decreased by 7 incidents (22.58% in count) from 31 to 24, whereas crashes on 'Wet' road surfaces increased by 7 incidents (700% in count) from 1 to 8, suggesting a higher proportion of crashes occurred under adverse weather and road conditions in the current period.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The total number of vehicles involved remained stable at 51 in both periods. There was a notable increase in crashes involving drivers aged 21-25, rising from 7 to 15, an increase of 8 persons (114.29%). Conversely, persons aged 16-20, 26-34, 55-64, and 65+ all saw decreases in their representation in crashes, with the 55-64 age group experiencing the largest drop of 5 persons (55.56%).
Top Vehicle Makes (51 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Vehicle unit records
9 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (65 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
Crashes in the 25 mph speed zone increased by 2 incidents (66.67% in count) from 3 to 5, while those in the 30 mph zone decreased by 4 incidents (33.33% in count) from 12 to 8. A fatal crash occurred in a 40 mph zone in July 2023, where no fatal crashes were reported in that zone in July 2022, despite the total crashes in that zone decreasing from 7 to 6.
Fatal crashes by zone: 40 mph: 1 of 6 (16.667%)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31 · 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: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-07-01 through 2023-07-31 (31 days)
- Geographic scope: PALMER, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 33
- Total persons involved: 73
- Total vehicles involved: 51
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). "PALMER, MA Crash Intelligence Report: July 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2023-07-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/palmer/july-2023-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
ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
Crash Data Intelligence
Data: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly
Period: 2023-07-01 – 2023-07-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved