Monthly Traffic Safety Analysis

121 CRASHES IN
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
OCTOBER 2023

All metrics benchmarked againstOctober 2022

In October 2023, West Springfield experienced 121 crashes, an increase from 99 crashes in October 2022. This represents a 22.2% rise in total crash incidents year-over-year. A notable shift was the 300% increase in DUI-related crashes, rising from 1 in the prior period to 4 in the current period.

121

22.2%was 99

Total Crash Events

0

-100.0%was 1

Persons Killed

37

48.0%was 25

Persons Injured

27

107.7%was 13

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

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Aggregate counts from crash, person, and vehicle records

Trend Summary

Overall, crashes in West Springfield are trending upwards year-over-year. The total number of crashes increased by 22.2%, from 99 in October 2022 to 121 in October 2023. This indicates a significant rise in crash incidents for the current month compared to the previous year.

27

Hit-and-Run Crashes — October 2023

107.7% vs prior (13)

Hit-and-run crashes increased significantly, rising from 13 incidents in October 2022 to 27 incidents in October 2023. This represents a 107.7% increase in the count of hit-and-run crashes. Consequently, the hit-and-run rate increased by 9.2 percentage points, from 13.1% to 22.3% of all crashes, indicating an upward trend.

Vulnerable Road User Casualties

0

Pedestrians Killed

Prior: 1-100.0%

0

Motorists Killed

Prior: 00.0%

2

Pedestrians Injured

Prior: 20.0%

35

Motorists Injured

Prior: 2259.1%

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Mode classified from person records (driver/passenger → motorist; pedestrian; bicyclist → cyclist; in-line skater / unspecified → other)

When Crashes Happen

The peak day for crashes shifted from Tuesday with 19 incidents in October 2022 to Monday with 24 incidents in October 2023. The peak hour remained 4 PM for both periods, with 10 crashes in October 2022 and 12 crashes in October 2023. This suggests a consistent afternoon peak but a change in the most crash-prone day of the week.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash date field aggregated by weekday

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Crash time field aggregated by hour (0-23)

Crash Severity Breakdown

Fatalities decreased from 1 in October 2022 to 0 in October 2023, representing a 100% reduction in fatal crashes. However, total injuries increased by 48%, from 25 to 37. While minor injury crashes maintained a similar share (13.1% to 13.2%), serious injuries (code A) were present in the prior period (1 incident) but absent in the current period.

Outcome by Severity (Crash Events)

Minor Injury16minor injury crashes13.2%
23.1%prior 13
Possible Injury3possible injury crashes2.5%
-25.0%prior 4
No Injury96no injury crashes79.3%
31.5%prior 73

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · KABCO injury classification scale

Severity Distribution (Crash Events)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Most severe injury per crash record

Top Contributing Factors

The number of crashes attributed to 'No improper driving' increased from 33 to 44, a 33.3% rise in count. 'Failed to yield right of way' crashes saw a 60% increase, from 5 to 8 incidents, while 'Driving too fast for conditions' rose by 75%, from 4 to 7 crashes. Conversely, 'Followed too closely' decreased by 10% in count, from 10 to 9 incidents.

Officer-Reported Primary Contributing Cause

No improper driving44 (36.4%)33.3%prior 33
Inattention12 (9.9%)9.1%prior 11
Followed too closely9 (7.4%)-10.0%prior 10
Failed to yield right of way8 (6.6%)60.0%prior 5
Driving too fast for conditions7 (5.8%)
Operating vehicle in erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner5 (4.1%)
Exceeded authorized speed limit4 (3.3%)
Other improper action3 (2.5%)
Failure to keep in proper lane or running off road3 (2.5%)
Made an improper turn2 (1.7%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Officer-reported primary contributory cause per crash

Road & Environmental Conditions

Crashes occurring in 'Clear' weather conditions increased from 69 to 79, while 'Wet' road surface conditions saw a significant increase in associated crashes, rising from 16 to 34. Crashes during 'Daylight' conditions increased from 64 to 78, and those in 'Dark - lighted roadway' conditions increased from 27 to 36. This indicates an increase in crashes across various conditions, particularly on wet roads.

Weather

Clear79 (65.3%)
14.5%prior 69
Rain21 (17.4%)
250.0%prior 6
Cloudy6 (5.0%)
0.0%prior 6
Cloudy/Rain5 (4.1%)
-28.6%prior 7
Clear/Cloudy3 (2.5%)
-40.0%prior 5
Clear/Unknown2 (1.7%)
Clear/Other2 (1.7%)
Rain/Cloudy2 (1.7%)
Rain/Unknown1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Weather condition at time of crash

Lighting

Daylight78 (65.0%)
21.9%prior 64
Dark - lighted roadway36 (30.0%)
33.3%prior 27
Dusk3 (2.5%)
Dark - unknown roadway lighting2 (1.7%)
Dark - roadway not lighted1 (0.8%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Lighting condition field

Road Surface

Dry87 (71.9%)
6.1%prior 82
Wet34 (28.1%)
112.5%prior 16

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Road surface condition field

Vehicles & Demographics

TOYOTA vehicles involved in crashes increased from 22 to 29, and HONDA vehicles from 23 to 27. Notably, NISSAN vehicles saw a 128.6% increase in crash involvement, rising from 7 to 16 incidents. Regarding person demographics, the 35-44 age group experienced a 64.3% increase in representation, rising from 28 to 46 individuals, while the 16-20 age group also saw a 57.1% increase, from 21 to 33 individuals.

Top Vehicle Makes (218 vehicles)

1
TOYOTA29 (13.3%)
31.8%prior 22
2
HONDA27 (12.4%)
17.4%prior 23
3
FORD20 (9.2%)
5.3%prior 19
4
NISSAN16 (7.3%)
128.6%prior 7
5
CHEVROLET15 (6.9%)
-6.3%prior 16
6
HYUNDAI13 (6%)
30.0%prior 10
7
KIA9 (4.1%)
28.6%prior 7
8
JEEP8 (3.7%)
-27.3%prior 11
9
SUBARU7 (3.2%)
40.0%prior 5
10
VOLKSWAGEN6 (2.8%)
0.0%prior 6

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Vehicle unit records

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

Sex Distribution (247 persons with recorded sex)

Female139 (56.3%)
46.3%prior 95
Male107 (43.3%)
3.9%prior 103
X / Unspecified1 (0.4%)

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · Person-level records linked to crash events

Speed Limit Zones

Crashes in the 30 mph speed limit zone increased from 37 to 43, while crashes in the 40 mph zone rose from 15 to 21. A substantial increase was observed in the 65 mph zone, with crashes rising by 160% from 5 to 13. No fatalities were recorded in any speed zone in the current period, compared to one fatality in the 30 mph zone in the prior period.

Source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV) · Arcgis_yearly Open Data · 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31 · 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: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31
  • Report generated: June 21, 2026

Data Coverage

  • Reporting period: 2023-10-01 through 2023-10-31 (31 days)
  • Geographic scope: WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
  • Total crash records analyzed: 121
  • Total persons involved: 284
  • Total vehicles involved: 218

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 SPRINGFIELD, MA Crash Intelligence Report: October 2023." Published June 21, 2026. Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2023-10-31. Data source: Massachusetts Crash Data (MassDOT CDV), Arcgis_yearly Open Data. Available at: https://thatcarhitme.com/crash-data/massachusetts/west-springfield/october-2023-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 Springfield, MA Crash Report — October 2023 | ThatCarHitMe.com