Each month, we post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. For the full list of monthly posts, head here. Earlier this year, we released a year in review for 2021 to highlight common issues.

Last month, we took a look at crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in October; twelve were identified as people walking. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in November 2022. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Crash Information.” Any Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

• Of the 32 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in November in the MassDOT Crash portal, 9 were identified as people walking.
• The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in November was 51.5.
• At least 3 of the crashes were hit & runs.
• 2 of the crashes were on the same street in Chicopee less than a mile apart.

The Framingham Source reports that a 62-year old man was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 6am on Thursday morning. 

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Franklin Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 25mph. 

A 53-year old man was struck and killed at 10:21pm on Friday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Southern Artery is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with two lanes in each direction and additional left turn lanes at the nearby intersection. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph. 

NBC Boston reports that 26-year Felix Romero was struck and seriously hurt at 4:59am in a hit and run crash on Thursday morning. He was standing outside his car after being involved in a minor crash with another vehicle on Route 3 when he was struck. Felix was rushed to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

State police said the driver of the white box truck left the scene of the crash and may have crossed into New Hampshire. 

NBC Boston spoke with his family:

His family is asking the driver to please come forward, saying, “We need you to come forward, we want justice for our son, we want justice for our kid.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, US-3 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 55mph. 

Boston 25 News reports that 65-year old Kevin Bradley, a professional who was onsite supporting recent construction at the Apple store, was struck and killed by 53-year old Bradley Rein, the driver who crashed his SUV through the Apple Store’s glass facade at Derby Street Shops at 10:45am Monday morning. 19 other people were injured. Officials said it was not clear how fast the vehicle was traveling. 

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz announced charges of reckless homicide by a motor vehicle and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

More from Boston 25 News:

Dr. Jason Tracy, Chief of Emergency Medicine at South Shore Hospital, said 17 people in total arrived at the ER suffering from “all types of traumatic injuries,” including head trauma, lower extremity injuries, and “mangled” limbs.

Tracy added that some of the victims were immediately taken in for surgery and that others will eventually need to be operated on. A number of those patients sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Dr. Chris Burns, the hospital’s trauma chief.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Derby Street is under MassDOT jurisdiction. However, this crash did not happen on MassDOT’s section of the roadway, it happened in the Derby Street Shops parking lot and into the Apple Store building, which is private property. There are trees and bushes, a large patio, and sidewalk between the parking lot and the building. The speed limit for the parking lot is unclear.

The Enterprise News reports that 50-year old Carlos Brito was struck and killed in a hit and run crash by the driver of a Nissan Murano SUV vehicle around 10pm on Monday evening. The driver left the scene and is still at large. 

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Forest Ave is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 30mph. 

WCVB reports a 57-year old Michael Shaw was struck and killed by the 35-year old driver of a vehicle around 10:45am on Monday morning at the T-intersection of Cocasset Street and Oak Street. 

A Boston.com article references Facebook comments about the intersection:

On Facebook, several locals commented to urge police to have the town put in a traffic light at the intersection of Cocasset and Oak Streets.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Cocasset Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on one side along both Cocasset and Oak Streets, with a crosswalk at the intersection connecting the sidewalks. A flashing yellow/red light at the T intersection can be seen on Google Street View, with a stop sign at the Oak Street approach to the intersection. The speed limit is unclear, with 40mph and 35mph both listed in the database. 

Western Mass News reports that 68-year old William Matteson was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle on Chicopee Street in Chicopee after 5pm on Monday evening. 42-year-old Benjamin Goraj of Chicopee was arrested on charges including motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence and operating under the influence (third offense).

Reporters spoke to Phylisity Sherokow, who lives nearby:

“This street, everybody’s speeding all the time,” Sherokow said. ” I think the police are trying their best to enforce the speed laws, but it’s Chicopee Street. People are flying down it at all hours of the day and night, and I walk to the stores myself sometimes. My husband, my family, we walk to the stores, just to get some fresh air, get a little walk, and it’s really sad.”

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Chicopee Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is 35mph. 

A 21-year old woman was struck and killed by the driver of a vehicle around 8pm on a Tuesday evening. We could not find any additional news coverage of this incident.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, I-190 NORTH is under MassDOT jurisdiction. It is a full access control highway, with three lanes in each direction and a shoulder. The speed limit is 65mph. 

MassLive reports 62-year old Gary Turcotte was struck and killed in a hit and run by the driver of a vehicle around 5pm on Wednesday evening. The driver left the scene. This crash is less than a mile from a fatal crash that happened two days earlier on Chicopee Street at a similar time of evening.

Chicopee Street resident Susan Santoro started a handwritten petition — signed by over 400 people — asking for better traffic safety, including the installation of speed tables. From Western Mass News:

Santoro knew both victims well and she lives on Chicopee Street herself. She said over the past few years she’s lived there, she’s had serious concerns about drivers. “They will not stop for you. Even though the pedestrians have the right of way, you don’t have a right-of-way on this street,” Santoro noted.

According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Chicopee Street is under local jurisdiction. It is a two way street, with one lane in each direction. There is a sidewalk on each side. The speed limit is unclear, with 25mph and 35mph both listed in the database. 

Updates

If you have an update about a community member who was killed in one of these crashes, please contact Brendan so we can update our 2022 list. WalkBoston has maintained a list each year since 2016, pulling the information from news reports, social media, and from people like you that share the information with us.

Yearly trackers:  |  ||||| 2022

Report: Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2021)

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal

MassDOT makes no representation as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, availability or completeness of the crash records or the data collected from them and is not responsible for any errors or omissions in such records or data. Under no circumstance will MassDOT have any liability for any loss or damage incurred by any party as a result of the use of the crash records or the data collected from them. Furthermore, the data contained in the web-based crash report tool are not an official record of what transpired in a particular crash or for a particular crash type. If a user is interested in an official copy of a crash report, contact the Registry (http://www.mass.gov/rmv/). The City of Boston Police Department may be contacted directly for official copies of crash reports and for crash data pertaining to the City of Boston. In addition, any crash records or data provided for the years after 2018 are subject to change at any time and are not to be considered up-to-date or complete. As such, open years’ of crash data are for informational purposes only and should not be used for analysis. The data posted on this website, including crash records and other reports, are collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential crash sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings. Under federal law, this information is not subject to discovery and cannot be admitted into evidence in any federal or state court proceeding or considered for other purposes in any action for damages that involves the sites mentioned in these records (see 23 USC, Section 409).