Yearly Traffic Safety Analysis

54 CRASHES IN
WEST BROOKFIELD, MA
2023

All metrics benchmarked against2022

In 2023, West Brookfield recorded 54 total crashes, representing a 14.9% increase from the 47 crashes documented in 2022. This rise in collisions was accompanied by a notable increase in persons injured, which grew from 13 in the prior year to 18 in the current year, a 38.5% change. No fatalities were reported in either period.

54

14.9%was 47

Total Crash Events

0

Persons Killed

18

38.5%was 13

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. 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

Crash incidents in West Brookfield trended upward year-over-year, with total collisions rising by 14.9% from 47 in 2022 to 54 in 2023. The number of people injured also increased by 38.5%, from 13 to 18. Fatalities remained at zero for both years.

2

Hit-and-Run Crashes — 2023

0.0% vs prior (2)

The number of hit-and-run incidents remained stable, with 2 crashes recorded in both 2022 and 2023. However, due to the overall increase in total collisions in the current year, the hit-and-run rate as a percentage of all crashes decreased slightly from 4.3% in 2022 to 3.7% in 2023.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

18

Motorists Injured

Prior: 1338.5%

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 shifted between the two periods. The peak day for crashes moved from Friday in 2022 (10 crashes) to Thursday in 2023 (10 crashes). While the peak hour for incidents remained 4 p.m., the number of crashes during this hour increased from 5 in 2022 to 9 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

Crash severity was consistent year-over-year, with no fatal crashes reported in either period. The number of serious injury crashes also held steady at one incident per year. However, the composition of injury-related crashes changed: the count of 'Possible Injury' crashes increased from 3 in 2022 to 7 in 2023, while 'Minor Injury' crashes decreased from 7 to 5.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Serious Injury1serious injury crashes1.9%
0.0%prior 1
Minor Injury5minor injury crashes9.3%
-28.6%prior 7
Possible Injury7possible injury crashes13%
133.3%prior 3
No Injury40no injury crashes74.1%
14.3%prior 35

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

While 'No improper driving' was the most cited factor in both years, its count decreased from 26 in 2022 to 24 in 2023. In contrast, the count of crashes attributed to specific driver actions increased. Incidents involving 'Followed too closely' grew from 1 to 5, and crashes where a driver was 'Distracted' increased from 1 to 4. The count of crashes involving an 'Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner' also doubled from 2 to 4.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving24 (44.4%)-7.7%prior 26
Followed too closely5 (9.3%)
Distracted4 (7.4%)
Inattention4 (7.4%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner4 (7.4%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road2 (3.7%)
Other improper action2 (3.7%)
Swerving or avoiding due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, vulnerable user in roadway2 (3.7%)
Fatigued/asleep1 (1.9%)
Physical impairment1 (1.9%)

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

There was a notable increase in crashes occurring in adverse road conditions. Collisions on wet roads increased from 2 in 2022 to 10 in 2023, and crashes during rainy weather rose from 1 to 5. The majority of crashes in both years occurred during daylight, but the count and share increased from 27 incidents (57.4% share) in 2022 to 38 incidents (70.4% share) in 2023.

Weather

Clear40 (74.1%)
2.6%prior 39
Cloudy5 (9.3%)
Rain5 (9.3%)
Snow2 (3.7%)
Cloudy/Snow1 (1.9%)
Cloudy/Unknown1 (1.9%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight38 (70.4%)
40.7%prior 27
Dark - lighted roadway7 (13.0%)
-22.2%prior 9
Dark - roadway not lighted6 (11.1%)
0.0%prior 6
Dusk3 (5.6%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry39 (72.2%)
-4.9%prior 41
Wet10 (18.5%)
Snow3 (5.6%)
Slush2 (3.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

The demographic profile of individuals involved in crashes showed a significant change, with the number of persons in the 65+ age group increasing from 14 in 2022 to 24 in 2023. In terms of vehicle makes, Ford became the most frequently involved vehicle with 13 instances in 2023, up from 8 in 2022. Toyota was the second most common make in 2023 with 11 vehicles, a slight decrease from 12 in the prior year.

Top Vehicle Makes (82 vehicles)

1
FORD13 (15.9%)
62.5%prior 8
2
TOYOTA11 (13.4%)
-8.3%prior 12
3
CHEVROLET11 (13.4%)
37.5%prior 8
4
NISSAN9 (11%)
5
JEEP6 (7.3%)
-45.5%prior 11
6
SUBARU5 (6.1%)
-16.7%prior 6
7
HONDA5 (6.1%)
8
HYUNDAI4 (4.9%)
9
KIA3 (3.7%)
10
ACURA2 (2.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (90 persons with recorded sex)

Male50 (55.6%)
6.4%prior 47
Female39 (43.3%)
34.5%prior 29
X / Unspecified1 (1.1%)

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

The distribution of crashes across different speed zones showed some changes between the two years. Crashes in 45 mph zones decreased from 10 in 2022 to 4 in 2023. Conversely, crashes in 30 mph zones rose from 12 to 15. The 40 mph zone remained a constant, with 17 crashes recorded in both periods. There were no fatal crashes in any speed zone for either year.

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: WEST BROOKFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 54
  • Total persons involved: 93
  • Total vehicles involved: 82

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). "WEST BROOKFIELD, 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/west-brookfield/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

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West Brookfield, MA Crash Report — 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com