ThatCarHitMe.com
An Injuria.ai Company
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CRASH REPORT · TOPSFIELD, MA · 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.
Authentication: None required. Public endpoint.
GET: https://thatcarhitme.com/api/crash-data/reports/data/massachusetts/topsfield/2023-annual-report
Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis
103 CRASHES IN
TOPSFIELD, MA
2023
In 2023, Topsfield recorded 103 total traffic crashes, a 3% increase from the 100 crashes reported in 2022. While overall crash volume remained relatively stable, the number of crashes involving a driver suspected of being under the influence of alcohol doubled, increasing from 4 in 2022 to 8 in 2023. The number of fatal crashes also increased from one to two year-over-year.
103
▲ 3.0%was 100
Total Crash Events
2
▲ 100.0%was 1
Persons Killed
46
▲ 2.2%was 45
Persons Injured
3
▼ -25.0%was 4
Hit-and-Run Crashes
Note: "Persons Killed" (2) counts individual fatalities across all crash events. "Fatal" in the severity table below (2) 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 · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records
Trend Summary
Overall, traffic crashes in Topsfield saw a slight increase in 2023 compared to the previous year. The total number of crashes rose by 3%, from 100 to 103. Similarly, the number of persons injured increased marginally from 45 to 46, while total fatalities rose from 1 to 2.
3
Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023
▼ -25.0% vs prior (4)
The number of hit-and-run incidents in Topsfield decreased in 2023 compared to the previous year. There were 3 hit-and-run crashes recorded in 2023, down from 4 in 2022. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate fell from 4.0% of all crashes in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, indicating a downward trend for this type of incident.
Vulnerable Road User Casualties
2
Motorists Killed
46
Motorists Injured
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)
When Crashes Happen
The temporal patterns of crashes showed some shifts between 2022 and 2023. The most frequent day for crashes changed from Wednesday (20 crashes) in 2022 to Thursday (19 crashes) in 2023. However, the peak hour for collisions remained consistent at 4 p.m. in both years, with 10 crashes in 2022 and 11 in 2023.
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)
Crash Severity Breakdown
The severity of crashes increased in 2023 compared to the prior year. The number of fatal crashes doubled from 1 to 2, with the fatal crash rate rising from 1.0% to 1.9% of all incidents. Crashes resulting in serious injuries also increased, accounting for 4.9% of all crashes (5 incidents) in 2023, up from 3.0% (3 incidents) in 2022. Conversely, the proportion of crashes with minor injuries decreased from a 17.0% share in 2022 to a 12.6% share in 2023.
Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale
Severity Distribution (Crash Events)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record
Top Contributing Factors
The leading contributing factors for crashes remained consistent, though their counts shifted between years. 'Inattention' was a more prominent factor in 2023, with its count increasing by 33% from 15 incidents in 2022 to 20 in 2023. Similarly, crashes attributed to 'Failed to yield right of way' rose by 44%, from 9 to 13 incidents. The count for crashes with 'No improper driving' cited as a factor decreased from 31 in 2022 to 23 in 2023.
Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash
Road & Environmental Conditions
Crashes in both years predominantly occurred in clear weather and daylight on dry roads. In 2023, 85% of crashes happened in clear weather, compared to 80% in 2022. However, the number of crashes reported during rain more than doubled, increasing from 3 in 2022 to 8 in 2023. Crashes on wet road surfaces remained nearly unchanged, with 14 incidents in 2023 versus 15 in the prior year.
Weather
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash
Lighting
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field
Road Surface
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field
Vehicles & Demographics
The top three vehicle makes involved in crashes remained consistent year-over-year, with Toyota, Honda, and Ford being the most frequent. In 2023, Toyota (28 vehicles) surpassed Honda (21 vehicles) as the most common make, a reversal from 2022 when Honda led with 26 vehicles. Analysis of persons involved shows a notable increase in the 26-34 and 35-44 age groups, which both rose to 37 individuals in 2023 from 24 and 20, respectively, in 2022. The 65+ age group remained unchanged with 37 individuals involved in both years.
Top Vehicle Makes (174 vehicles)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records
5 persons with unknown or unrecorded age excluded from age chart.
Sex Distribution (207 persons with recorded sex)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events
Speed Limit Zones
In both years, crashes were most common in 45 mph and 30 mph speed zones. However, the distribution shifted, with crashes in 45 mph zones decreasing from 33 in 2022 to 24 in 2023, while incidents in 65 mph zones increased from 9 to 13. The location of fatal crashes also changed; the single 2022 fatality occurred in a 45 mph zone, whereas the two fatalities in 2023 happened in higher speed zones of 50 mph and 65 mph.
Fatal crashes by zone: 50 mph: 1 of 13 (7.692%) · 65 mph: 1 of 13 (7.692%)
Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · 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: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31
- Report generated: June 21, 2026
Data Coverage
- Reporting period: 2023-01-01 through 2023-12-31 (365 days)
- Geographic scope: TOPSFIELD, MA
- Total crash records analyzed: 103
- Total persons involved: 215
- Total vehicles involved: 174
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). "TOPSFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/topsfield/2023-annual-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: 2023-01-01 – 2023-12-31
Generated: June 21, 2026 · All rights reserved