Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

655 CRASHES IN
WELLESLEY, MA
2025

All metrics benchmarked against2024

In 2025, Wellesley recorded 655 total crashes, a 4.7% decrease from the 687 crashes reported in 2024. While overall crashes and injuries declined, the most notable change was the occurrence of one fatal crash in 2025, whereas no fatal crashes were recorded in the prior year.

655

-4.7%was 687

Total Crash Events

1

Persons Killed

131

-10.9%was 147

Persons Injured

30

-37.5%was 48

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, traffic crashes in Wellesley showed a downward trend, with total incidents decreasing by 4.7% from 687 in 2024 to 655 in 2025. The number of injuries also fell by 10.9%, from 147 to 131. However, this period saw the introduction of one fatality, compared to zero in the previous year.

30

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2025

-37.5% vs prior (48)

Hit-and-run incidents decreased significantly year-over-year. The number of hit-and-run crashes fell by 37.5%, from 48 in 2024 to 30 in 2025. This corresponds to a drop in the hit-and-run rate, which declined from 7.0% of all crashes in the prior year to 4.6% in the current year.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 00.0%

0

Cyclists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

1

Motorists Killed

Prior: 0%

0

Other Killed

Prior: 00.0%

5

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 7-28.6%

3

Cyclists Injured

Prior: 10-70.0%

122

Motorists Injured

Prior: 128-4.7%

1

Other Injured

Prior: 2-50.0%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The temporal patterns of crashes shifted between the two years. The peak day for crashes moved from Tuesday (138 incidents) in 2024 to Thursday (120 incidents) in 2025. Similarly, the peak hour for collisions shifted from the 12 p.m. hour in 2024, which saw 64 crashes, to the 3 p.m. hour in 2025, which saw 70 crashes. Crashes remained concentrated on weekdays in both periods.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

In 2025, one fatal crash was recorded, accounting for 0.2% of all incidents, compared to zero fatal crashes in 2024. The proportion of serious injury crashes increased from 1.5% (10 crashes) in 2024 to 2.1% (14 crashes) in 2025. Conversely, the share of crashes resulting in minor or possible injuries decreased, while the proportion of no-injury crashes rose from 80.6% to 84.4% of all incidents.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Fatal1fatal crashes0.2%
Serious Injury14serious injury crashes2.1%
40.0%prior 10
Minor Injury64minor injury crashes9.8%
-17.9%prior 78
Possible Injury18possible injury crashes2.7%
-28.0%prior 25
No Injury553no injury crashes84.4%
-0.2%prior 554

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The leading contributing factors for crashes remained consistent, with 'Inattention' and 'Followed too closely' as the top two in both periods. The count of crashes attributed to 'Inattention' increased by 10.8% from 139 to 154, and crashes involving 'Followed too closely' rose by 6.9% from 131 to 140. Crashes related to 'Failed to yield right of way' also saw a 16.2% increase in count, rising from 68 to 79 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

Inattention154 (23.5%)10.8%prior 139
Followed too closely140 (21.4%)6.9%prior 131
No improper driving104 (15.9%)-14.8%prior 122
Failed to yield right of way79 (12.1%)16.2%prior 68
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road35 (5.3%)-10.3%prior 39
Made an improper turn16 (2.4%)0.0%prior 16
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner14 (2.1%)-12.5%prior 16
Distracted13 (2%)-35.0%prior 20
Driving too fast for conditions12 (1.8%)9.1%prior 11
Visibility obstructed12 (1.8%)-14.3%prior 14

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes in both periods predominantly occurred in daylight and on dry road surfaces. The proportion of crashes on wet roads increased from 10.6% of all crashes in 2024 to 13.1% in 2025. Correspondingly, the count of crashes during rainy weather conditions rose from 55 in 2024 to 73 in 2025. Crashes occurring in daylight represented 80.5% of the total in 2025, a slight increase from 78.7% in the prior year.

Weather

Clear459 (70.1%)
-14.4%prior 536
Rain56 (8.5%)
40.0%prior 40
Cloudy49 (7.5%)
-14.0%prior 57
Clear/Clear32 (4.9%)
Snow11 (1.7%)
-26.7%prior 15
Cloudy/Rain10 (1.5%)
66.7%prior 6
Clear/Cloudy7 (1.1%)
Clear/Unknown5 (0.8%)
Snow/Sleet, hail (freezing rain or drizzle)4 (0.6%)
Rain/Cloudy4 (0.6%)
-33.3%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight527 (80.5%)
-2.6%prior 541
Dark - lighted roadway88 (13.4%)
-17.8%prior 107
Dusk19 (2.9%)
35.7%prior 14
Dawn10 (1.5%)
11.1%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted9 (1.4%)
-18.2%prior 11
Dark - unknown roadway lighting2 (0.3%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry539 (82.3%)
-6.3%prior 575
Wet86 (13.1%)
17.8%prior 73
Snow20 (3.1%)
-23.1%prior 26
Ice8 (1.2%)
-27.3%prior 11
Sand, mud, dirt, oil, gravel1 (0.2%)
Slush1 (0.2%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The makes of vehicles involved in crashes remained consistent, with Toyota, Honda, and Ford being the top three most frequent in both years, though the count for Toyotas involved decreased from 253 to 203. An analysis of persons involved shows a shift in age demographics, with the proportion of individuals in the 0-15 age group increasing from 4.1% to 6.7% of all persons involved. The share of persons in the 65+ age group also increased from 13.4% to 15.0% year-over-year.

Top Vehicle Makes (1,276 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA203 (15.9%)
-19.8%prior 253
2
HONDA147 (11.5%)
0.7%prior 146
3
FORD114 (8.9%)
-4.2%prior 119
4
JEEP68 (5.3%)
-1.4%prior 69
5
CHEVROLET61 (4.8%)
38.6%prior 44
6
SUBARU59 (4.6%)
9.3%prior 54
7
NISSAN44 (3.4%)
-24.1%prior 58
8
MERCEDES-BENZ41 (3.2%)
5.1%prior 39
9
BMW41 (3.2%)
5.1%prior 39
10
TESL41 (3.2%)
86.4%prior 22

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (1,385 persons with recorded sex)

Male726 (52.4%)
2.3%prior 710
Female658 (47.5%)
0.9%prior 652
X / Unspecified1 (0.1%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

In both periods, the majority of crashes occurred in 30 mph and 50 mph speed zones. There was a shift in distribution, with crashes in 30 mph zones increasing from 313 to 334, while crashes in 50 mph zones decreased from 204 to 169. The single fatal crash recorded in 2025 occurred within a 30 mph zone; no fatal crashes were reported in any speed zone in 2024.

Fatal crashes by zone: 30 mph: 1 of 334 (0.299%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · 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: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2025-01-01 through 2025-12-31 (365 days)
  • Geographic scope: WELLESLEY, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 655
  • Total persons involved: 1,502
  • Total vehicles involved: 1,276

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). "WELLESLEY, MA Crash Intelligence Report: 2025." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/wellesley/2025-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

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Wellesley, MA Crash Report — 2025 | ThatCarHitMe.com