Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

40 CRASHES IN
STURBRIDGE, MA
OCTOBER 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2023

In October 2024, STURBRIDGE experienced 40 crashes, a decrease of 9.1% compared to the 44 crashes recorded in October 2023. Despite the reduction in total crashes, the number of injuries increased substantially from 8 in October 2023 to 19 in October 2024, representing a 137.5% rise.

40

-9.1%was 44

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

19

137.5%was 8

Persons Injured

2

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. 2 crashes with unreported severity are not shown in the severity breakdown.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, the number of crashes in STURBRIDGE decreased by 9.1% year-over-year, from 44 crashes in October 2023 to 40 crashes in October 2024. However, this period saw a significant upward trend in injuries, with total injuries rising by 137.5% from 8 to 19.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2024

5.0% hit-and-run rate this period vs 0.0% prior. Prior period: 0.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 0%

18

Motorists Injured

Prior: 8125.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes remained Friday in both October 2023 and October 2024, with 9 crashes occurring on this day in both periods. However, the peak hour for crashes shifted from 3 PM with 6 crashes in October 2023 to 12 PM with 7 crashes in October 2024.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities remained at zero in both October 2023 and October 2024. The overall number of injuries increased from 8 to 19 year-over-year, and a serious injury crash was reported in October 2024 (1 crash, 2.5%) compared to none in the prior period. The proportion of crashes resulting in no injury decreased from 79.5% in October 2023 to 67.5% in October 2024.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes2.5%
Minor Injury7minor injury crashes17.5%
75.0%prior 4
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes7.5%
-25.0%prior 4
No Injury27no injury crashes67.5%
-22.9%prior 35

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factor shifted from 'No improper driving' and 'Failed to yield right of way' in October 2023 to 'Followed too closely' in October 2024. Crashes attributed to 'Followed too closely' increased by 57.1%, from 7 crashes in the prior period to 11 crashes in the current period. Conversely, 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes decreased by 40%, from 10 crashes in October 2023 to 6 crashes in October 2024.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Followed too closely11 (27.5%)57.1%prior 7
No improper driving9 (22.5%)-10.0%prior 10
Failed to yield right of way6 (15%)-40.0%prior 10
Inattention5 (12.5%)-16.7%prior 6
Operating defective equipment2 (5%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (5%)
Physical impairment1 (2.5%)
Emotional1 (2.5%)
Distracted1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

A significant shift occurred in weather conditions, with 100% of crashes in October 2024 occurring in clear or clear-related weather, compared to 72.7% in October 2023. The proportion of crashes on dry road surfaces increased from 75% (33 of 44 crashes) in the prior period to 97.5% (39 of 40 crashes) in the current period. Crashes occurring in 'Dark - roadway not lighted' conditions decreased from 11 in October 2023 to 6 in October 2024.

Weather

Clear34 (85.0%)
6.3%prior 32
Clear/Clear4 (10.0%)
Clear/Other2 (5.0%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight28 (70.0%)
12.0%prior 25
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (15.0%)
-45.5%prior 11
Dark - lighted roadway4 (10.0%)
-42.9%prior 7
Dark - unknown roadway lighting1 (2.5%)
Dawn1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry39 (97.5%)
18.2%prior 33
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (2.5%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes increased by 8.2%, from 73 in October 2023 to 79 in October 2024. Toyota became the most frequently involved vehicle make, with 20 vehicles in October 2024, a substantial increase from 8 in the prior period. Honda vehicles involved remained stable at 8 in both periods, shifting its ranking from first to second.

Top Vehicle Makes (79 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA20 (25.3%)
150.0%prior 8
2
HONDA8 (10.1%)
-20.0%prior 10
3
FORD7 (8.9%)
16.7%prior 6
4
SUBARU6 (7.6%)
-14.3%prior 7
5
JEEP5 (6.3%)
-28.6%prior 7
6
KIA3 (3.8%)
7
DODGE3 (3.8%)
8
VOLKSWAGEN3 (3.8%)
9
CHEVROLET3 (3.8%)
10
NISSAN3 (3.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (95 persons with recorded sex)

Male52 (54.7%)
13.0%prior 46
Female43 (45.3%)
-10.4%prior 48

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in 65 mph speed zones saw a substantial decrease, falling by 69.2% from 13 crashes in October 2023 to 4 crashes in October 2024. Conversely, crashes in 45 mph zones increased by 75% (from 4 to 7 crashes), and crashes in 50 mph zones increased by 200% (from 1 to 3 crashes). Crashes in 35 mph zones remained constant at 10 crashes in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31 · 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: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-10-01 through 2024-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: STURBRIDGE, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 40
  • Total persons involved: 102
  • Total vehicles involved: 79

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). "STURBRIDGE, MA Crash Intelligence Report: October 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-10-01 to 2024-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/sturbridge/october-2024-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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Sturbridge, MA Crash Report — October 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com