Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

33 CRASHES IN
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
SEPTEMBER 2025

All metrics benchmarked againstSeptember 2024

In September 2025, Southbridge experienced 33 crashes, a significant increase compared to the 15 crashes reported in September 2024. This represents a 120% rise in total crashes year-over-year. The most notable shift was the substantial increase in crashes attributed to 'Inattention,' which rose from 2 incidents to 7 incidents.

33

120.0%was 15

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

6

20.0%was 5

Persons Injured

2

100.0%was 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. 1 crash with unreported severity is 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

Overall, crash incidents in Southbridge showed a substantial upward trend, increasing from 15 crashes in September 2024 to 33 crashes in September 2025. This represents a 120% increase in total crashes year-over-year. Fatalities remained at zero in both periods, while total injuries increased by 20%, from 5 to 6.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — September 2025

100.0% vs prior (1)

Hit-and-run crashes increased from 1 incident in September 2024 to 2 incidents in September 2025. Despite the increase in raw numbers, the hit-and-run rate slightly decreased from 6.7% of total crashes in the prior period to 6.1% in the current period.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

5

Motorists Injured

Prior: 425.0%

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 shifted from Wednesday with 4 incidents in September 2024 to Tuesday with 6 incidents in September 2025. The peak hour for crashes also changed, moving from 12 p.m. with 2 incidents in the prior period to 3 p.m. with 6 incidents in the current period, indicating a shift towards later afternoon peaks.

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

There were no fatal crashes or fatalities reported in either September 2024 or September 2025. Total injuries increased from 5 in the prior period to 6 in the current period, a 20% increase. Minor injuries (B) increased from 3 to 5, while possible injuries (C) remained constant at 1 in both periods.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury5minor injury crashes15.2%
66.7%prior 3
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes3%
0.0%prior 1
No Injury26no injury crashes78.8%
136.4%prior 11

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

Among common contributing factors, 'No improper driving' crashes increased from 3 to 8, a 166.7% rise in count. Crashes attributed to 'Inattention' saw a 250% increase, rising from 2 to 7 incidents, while 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' crashes increased by 150%, from 2 to 5. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes also increased from 1 to 3, a 200% change in count.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving8 (24.2%)
Inattention7 (21.2%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (15.2%)
Failed to yield right of way3 (9.1%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (9.1%)
Followed too closely2 (6.1%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit1 (3%)
Physical impairment1 (3%)
Distracted1 (3%)

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

Clear weather remained the predominant condition for crashes in both periods, accounting for 14 crashes in September 2024 and 28 crashes in September 2025. Crashes occurring in 'Daylight' conditions increased from 10 to 21, maintaining its status as the most frequent lighting condition. The road surface data for the prior period was not available for comparison.

Weather

Clear28 (87.5%)
100.0%prior 14
Clear/Other1 (3.1%)
Cloudy1 (3.1%)
Cloudy/Rain1 (3.1%)
Rain1 (3.1%)

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

Lighting

Daylight21 (63.6%)
110.0%prior 10
Dark - lighted roadway6 (18.2%)
Dark - roadway not lighted4 (12.1%)
Dawn1 (3.0%)
Other1 (3.0%)

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

Road Surface

Dry29 (90.6%)
Wet3 (9.4%)

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

Vehicles & Demographics

Top Vehicle Makes (55 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA13 (23.6%)
2
FORD7 (12.7%)
3
CHEVROLET5 (9.1%)
4
HONDA4 (7.3%)
5
JEEP3 (5.5%)
6
SUBARU3 (5.5%)
7
NISSAN3 (5.5%)
8
GMC3 (5.5%)
9
VOLKSWAGEN2 (3.6%)
10
THMS2 (3.6%)

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

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

Sex Distribution (68 persons with recorded sex)

Male43 (63.2%)
230.8%prior 13
Female25 (36.8%)
150.0%prior 10

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

Crashes occurring in 25 mph speed zones increased from 11 in September 2024 to 30 in September 2025, remaining the most common speed limit for crashes. Crashes in 35 mph zones decreased from 2 to 1. Fatal crashes remained at zero across all reported speed zones in both periods.

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: SOUTHBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 33
  • Total persons involved: 80
  • Total vehicles involved: 55

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). "SOUTHBRIDGE, 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/southbridge/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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Southbridge, MA Crash Report — September 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com