Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

30 CRASHES IN
WAKEFIELD, MA
AUGUST 2024

All metrics benchmarked againstAugust 2023

Total crashes in Wakefield, MA decreased by 41.17% from 51 in August 2023 to 30 in August 2024. While overall crashes declined, a notable shift was the increase in total fatalities from zero to one during this period. This fatality involved a pedestrian in August 2024, whereas no pedestrian fatalities occurred in August 2023.

30

-41.2%was 51

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

5

-58.3%was 12

Persons Injured

2

-33.3%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 · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

The overall trend indicates a significant decrease in crash incidents year-over-year, with total crashes falling by 41.17%. Crashes decreased from 51 in August 2023 to 30 in August 2024. Despite this reduction, a fatality was reported in August 2024, compared to zero fatalities in August 2023.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — August 2024

-33.3% vs prior (3)

The number of hit-and-run crashes decreased from 3 in August 2023 to 2 in August 2024. Despite this decrease in count, the hit-and-run rate relative to total crashes increased from 5.9% to 6.7% year-over-year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

1

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 2-100.0%

1

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

4

Motorists Injured

Prior: 8-50.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns for crashes shifted year-over-year, with the peak day changing from Wednesday in August 2023 (12 crashes) to Friday in August 2024 (9 crashes). Similarly, the peak crash hour moved from 2 PM (6 crashes) in August 2023 to 12 PM (5 crashes) in August 2024. This indicates a shift in the most frequent crash times.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

The severity distribution saw a significant change, with total fatalities increasing from 0 in August 2023 to 1 in August 2024, resulting in a fatal crash rate of 3.33% in the current period. Total injuries decreased from 12 to 5 year-over-year. Minor injuries (B) decreased from 8 crashes (15.7% share) to 4 crashes (13.3% share), and possible injuries (C) decreased from 2 crashes (3.9% share) to 1 crash (3.3% share).

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes3.3%
Minor Injury4minor injury crashes13.3%
-50.0%prior 8
Possible Injury1possible injury crashes3.3%
-50.0%prior 2
No Injury24no injury crashes80%
-36.8%prior 38

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

Several contributing factors saw notable changes in crash counts year-over-year. Crashes attributed to "Inattention" decreased from 10 to 5, and "No improper driving" decreased from 9 to 3. Conversely, "Failed to yield right of way" increased from 5 crashes in August 2023 to 8 crashes in August 2024, becoming the most frequent factor in the current period.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Failed to yield right of way8 (26.7%)60.0%prior 5
Inattention5 (16.7%)-50.0%prior 10
No improper driving3 (10%)-66.7%prior 9
Followed too closely3 (10%)
Other improper action2 (6.7%)-60.0%prior 5
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road1 (3.3%)
Made an improper turn1 (3.3%)
Driving too fast for conditions1 (3.3%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (3.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in "Clear" weather conditions decreased from 38 to 26 year-over-year, while "Cloudy" conditions decreased from 6 to 4. Crashes under "Daylight" conditions decreased from 42 to 29, and those in "Dark - lighted roadway" conditions decreased from 7 to 1. Crashes on "Dry" road surfaces decreased from 46 to 29, and "Wet" road surface crashes decreased from 5 to 1.

Weather

Clear26 (86.7%)
-31.6%prior 38
Cloudy4 (13.3%)
-33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight29 (96.7%)
-31.0%prior 42
Dark - lighted roadway1 (3.3%)
-85.7%prior 7

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry29 (96.7%)
-37.0%prior 46
Wet1 (3.3%)
-80.0%prior 5

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The total number of vehicles involved in crashes decreased from 96 in August 2023 to 58 in August 2024, corresponding with the overall crash reduction. The total number of persons involved also decreased from 124 to 77. Toyota and Ford remained among the top vehicle makes involved, though their counts decreased from 14 to 10 for Toyota and 14 to 9 for Ford. All reported age groups saw a reduction in the number of persons involved, for example, the 26-34 age group decreased from 23 to 13 persons.

Top Vehicle Makes (58 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA10 (17.2%)
-28.6%prior 14
2
FORD9 (15.5%)
-35.7%prior 14
3
CHEVROLET6 (10.3%)
-40.0%prior 10
4
MAZDA3 (5.2%)
5
HONDA3 (5.2%)
-40.0%prior 5
6
NISSAN3 (5.2%)
-66.7%prior 9
7
JEEP3 (5.2%)
8
SUBARU2 (3.4%)
9
HYUNDAI2 (3.4%)
-66.7%prior 6
10
GMC2 (3.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (73 persons with recorded sex)

Male42 (57.5%)
-34.4%prior 64
Female31 (42.5%)
-34.0%prior 47

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed zone decreased from 25 in August 2023 to 13 in August 2024. Similarly, crashes in the 55 mph zone decreased from 14 to 9. A fatal crash occurred in the 30 mph zone in August 2024, which was not present in any speed zone in August 2023.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 13 (7.692%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31 · 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: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2024-08-01 through 2024-08-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WAKEFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 30
  • Total persons involved: 77
  • Total vehicles involved: 58

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). "WAKEFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: August 2024." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2024-08-01 to 2024-08-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wakefield/august-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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Wakefield, MA Crash Report — August 2024 | ThatCarHitMe.com