Tag: fatal crashes

Statewide Fatal Crashes In MA, March 2021

Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. Last month, we took a look at the 4 fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in February. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in March 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 23 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in March in the MassDOT Crash portal, 7 were people walking. We’ve identified 1 additional fatal incident during March covered in the news media:
- 1 person lost their life in Malden when a mechanic with a suspended license crashed an SUV through the door of an auto body shop and struck her as she was walking on the sidewalk. View a segment from WCVB about 86-year-old Athena Hartwell, who walked this section of sidewalk almost every day with her walker: “Neighborhood mourns woman killed in SUV crash.“
- Updated 4/29/2021: We listed a crash that occurred in Sterling as not being in the portal for March, but this crash occurred in April and is listed. We apologize for the error. We’ve updated this post accordingly.
The crash portal does not include names. The names of 7 of the people walking who died have not been made public yet; unlike previous months in 2021, news articles were more difficult to find for many of these crashes.
The average age of pedestrians hit & killed in March was 59.6.
3 of the crashes all have 12:00AM listed as the time; it is possible data was incomplete when initially submitted.
At least 4 of the crashes were hit & runs (as referenced in news articles).
The name of the person driving was not identified in any of the crashes in news articles that we found.

Date	3/3/2021, 12:00 AM
Location	800 Morrissey Blvd.
Town	Boston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	56
Sex	M

A 56-year old man was hit and killed on Morrissey Boulevard in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Morrissey Boulevard is under MassDCR jurisdiction. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date	3/7/2021, 12:00 AM
Location	232 Stafford Rd.
Town	Monson
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	94
Sex	F

A 94-year old woman was hit and killed on Stafford Road. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Stafford Rd/Rt 32 is under MassDOT jurisdiction. There are no sidewalks on this road. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date	3/7/2021, 12:40 AM
Location	Auburn St. + Summer St.
Town	Bridgewater
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	34
Sex	M

Ian Dalgliesh, a 34-year old man, was found unconscious in the roadway at the intersection of Auburn and Summer streets in Bridgewater around 12:40 a.m. on Sunday, March 7. WCVB reported three weeks after that crash that police were still seeking help to find the driver who left the scene. The article noted that the intersection is located in a residential neighborhood, with stop signs located at all four corners.

Google Streetview shows a sidewalk on one side of the street for one leg of the intersection. It also shows a house on the corner with guardrails at the intersection, possibly indicating that drivers have driven recklessly in this area before.

Date	3/10/2021, 7:00 PM
Location	Meadow St. + Chicopee St.
Town	Chicopee
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	53
Sex	M

A Chicopee man was hit & seriously injured in a hit & run crash on March 10th near Rivers Park. He died later in the month from his injuries. The Chicopee Police released photos of a dark colored SUV on March 25th as part of the investigation to track down the driver. While there is a signalized crosswalk near the Meadow/Chicopee PVTA bus stop at one corner of Rivers Park, there are no crosswalks at the intersection of Meadow & Chicopee Streets.

According to Streetview, a crosswalk across Chicopee Street nearby that did not have curb ramps was removed between 2016 & 2017 during street & sidewalk reconstruction at the corner of Chicopee, Margaret & Whitman Streets.

Date	3/12/2021, 9:40 PM
Location	189 Chestnut Hill Ave.
Town	Boston
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	77
Sex	M

A 77 year old man was hit and killed on Chestnut Hill Ave in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date	3/17/2021, 12:00 AM
Location	511 Broadway
Town	Everett
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	67
Sex	M

A 67-year-old man was hit and killed on Broadway in Everett. We have not been able to find additional information about this crash.

Date	3/25/2021, 8:10 PM
Location	Parker St. + Ellery St.
Town	Springfield
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	40
Sex	M

A 40-year old man was hit and killed on March 25th at Parker Street & Ellery Street in Springfield. Ellery Street is a private way. Parker Street has 2 travel lanes in each direction, and is at least 48 feet wide curb to curb. While WWLP reported breaking news on March 25th that a crash may have involved a motorcycle at this location, we have not been able to find additional information about this crash. [Update, 3/23/2022: this was re-categorized as a motorcycle crash.]

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 . 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: |||||

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
DISCLAIMER: The compilation of data is based on preliminary data we receive from a variety of local sources. Some of the data may differ slightly from information provided by NHTSA as this dashboard does not use imputation methods. Information is subject to change when/if updated information becomes available. Data updated daily as reported by police departments.

*Updated 4/29/2021: We listed a crash that occurred in Sterling as not being in the database for March, but this crash occurred in April and is listed. We apologize for the error. We’ve updated the post accordingly.

Statewide Fatal Crashes in MA, February 2021

Each month in 2021, we plan to post about the fatal crashes in Massachusetts from the previous month, and share any trends that we see. Last month, we took a look at the 5 fatal crashes listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal in January. In this post, we’ll look at crashes in MA in February 2021. The information in the chart below is compiled from news reports, and was checked against the MassDOT Crash Portal Dashboard “Fatal Information by Year.” The Google Street View images included below use the address listed in the crash portal.

Of the 19 fatal crashes in Massachusetts in February in the MassDOT Crash portal, 4 were people walking.
3 of those 4 crashes were on limited access highways. In 2 of those crashes, tractor trailer drivers struck and killed a driver who exited a vehicle after it had broken down.
The crash portal does not include names. The names of 2 of the people walking who died have not been made public yet.
The name of the person driving was not identified in any of the 4 crashes in news articles.
2 people lost their lives at a construction site in Boston in February when a co-worker hit them with a vehicle, pushing them into an open trench. That incident is not listed in the MassDOT Crash Portal. The Boston Globe wrote at least two follow up stories about 33-year-old Jose Carlos Figueroa-Gutierrez and 27-year-old Jordan Romero: “One day later, makeshift memorial for two construction workers only sign of tragedy in Boston,” “A sister mourns for brother killed at downtown Boston construction site.”

Date	2/2/2021, 11:30 PM
Location	I-90 EAST, MM 87.0
Town	Oxford
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	33
Sex	M

A 33 year old Hartford man was struck and killed on on I-90 (the MassPike) by the driver of a tractor trailer. WHDH reported that he was hit after his Toyota Camry broke down and he got out of the car to examine the problem.

Date	2/8/2021, 5:55 PM
Location	418 Winthrop Ave.
Town	Lawrence
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	70
Sex	F

A 70 year old woman was hit and killed on Winthrop Ave (Rt 114) on the North Andover / Lawrence line. The Boston Globe reported that the scene of the crash on Route 114 was near the North Andover Mall. Rt 114 is 4 lanes (2 travel lanes each direction) in front of the North Andover Mall and 3 lanes after the driveway intersection. There is only a sidewalk on one side of the street. According to the MassDOT Road Inventory, Winthrop Ave/Rt 114 is under MassDOT jurisdiction.

According to Google Streetview, the sidewalk is relatively new and under construction as of November 2019. There is only a sidewalk on one side of the street, but it did not exist prior to November 2019. New curb ramps are in place but only go across the driveway entrance, not Rt 114. The nearest crosswalks across Rt 114 are 0.9 miles away from each other, with the shopping center roughly in between. A housing development is also on the other side of the street from the shopping center.

Date	2/13/2021, 5:55 AM
Location	I-90 EAST, MM 116.2
Town	Framingham
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	57
Sex	M

Mustapha Faddi, a 57 year old Marlborough man, was struck and killed on I-90 (the MassPike) by the driver of a tractor trailer. Mustapha’s Nissan Murano broke down and he got out of the car to examine the problem. The Patch shared that this was the second fatal crash on the MassPike in February involving a disable vehicle & tractor trailer.

Date	2/27/2021, 11:40 PM
Location	I-93 NORTH, south of EXIT 33
Town	Medford
Type	PEDESTRIAN
Age	22
Sex	F

Madeleine Fox, a 22 year old woman, was hit and killed after she got out of her friend’s car on I-93. NBC Boston reports that investigators are working to identify a description of the vehicle or vehicles that might have hit her.

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 . 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: |||||

Reminder about the data from the MassDOT portal
DISCLAIMER: The compilation of data is based on preliminary data we receive from a variety of local sources. Some of the data may differ slightly from information provided by NHTSA as this dashboard does not use imputation methods. Information is subject to change when/if updated information becomes available. Data updated daily as reported by police departments.

Eight people killed while walking in August.

In August, drivers have hit and killed at least 8 people walking in Massachusetts, more than in any other month in 2020. We don’t know all the details of the crashes yet, and honestly we may never know.

What we do know is that these deaths were preventable. As an organization, WalkBoston continues to push for fundamental changes in our transportation system that work to eliminate pedestrian deaths and ensure safe mobility for all. We will look at these crash locations and see if there is a missing crosswalk or extra wide lanes that may have contributed to these crashes. And if so, we’ll advocate for road design changes to slow traffic down and help prevent tragedies from happening again. But, our efforts will not bring these eight people back.

Date of crash	Community	Time	Name	Age
August 2, 2020	Fall River	9:20 AM	Dolores McHenry	81
August 3, 2020	Webster	7:00 AM	Richard Tetreault	87
August 9, 2020	Hopkinton	3:30 PM	Laurie Cain	65
August 11, 2020	Brockton	8:52 PM	Michelle Shelley Maxwell	55
August 13, 2020	Concord	10:30 AM	Jennifer Bemis	67
August 15, 2020	Quincy	11:20 AM	(unknown, Canton man)	68
August 15, 2020	Boston – Dorchester (Peabody Sq)	11:45 PM	Qualan Joseph Powell	33
August 17, 2020	Brockton	11:50 PM	Joseph Driscoll	62

Sources: | MassDOT Crash Portal

We need to make sure to all work together to make our roads safer for people to walk, bike and roll, and save other families from the pain of losing a loved one. If you live in one of these communities and want resources, contact us at info@dev.walkboston.org

Letter to Mayor Walsh-Massachusetts Zero Coalition

May 17, 2017

Mayor Martin Walsh
City Hall
Boston, MA 02201

Re: Vision Zero

Dear Mayor Walsh:

When you announced the Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2015, we were proud to be your constituents. You demonstrated leadership when you stated:

“We know how to build safer streets. We know how to protect our most vulnerable road users, who are suffering disproportionately because of speeding traffic and distracted drivers. With this Action Plan, I am saying it’s time to act. It’s time to commit to eliminating fatal and serious traffic crashes from our daily experience.”

Which is why we were dismayed by your comments Wednesday afternoon on WGBH Radio.

On behalf of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition we invite you to work with us to fully fund and implement Vision Zero in Boston. We ask that you join us on Friday morning at 8 AM for a moment of silence for victims of traffic violence on City Hall Plaza. On behalf of those victims, we also ask that you apologize for the comments you made on the air.

Our streets are in crisis.

In 2016, fifteen people died while walking on Boston’s streets; a record-‐breaking high for pedestrian fatalities. We are on track to see even higher numbers in 2017. Crashes overall are up. On average, at least two to three people walking are hit in a crash that results in an EMT call every day.

We need action from you and your administration, not victim-‐blaming. When you said on the air, “Pedestrians need to put their head up when they’re walking down the street, take your headphones off … you’ve got to understand, cars are going to hit you,” you were reiterating a narrative that doesn’t stand up to the crash data your administration collects.

Most of the people killed while walking were children or older adults. In 2016, of the 10 pedestrian victims whose ages we know, four were older than 60 and two were younger than 3 years old.

This Coalition and your constituents look to you for action.

A week ago, hundreds of people attended the City Council’s FY18 budget hearing for the Boston Transportation Department to call for increased resources to make streets safer for everyone. After 2 the hours of questions from the council and public testimony, it’s clear from all sides -‐ Boston is falling behind.

In your interview with WGBH, you said that the city is doing “everything we can,” but we know Boston is being eclipsed by peer cities in both resources and implementation. The City of New York spends about $20 per person on Vision Zero annually, and San Francisco spends $75 per person annually. Both cities have seen declines in overall traffic fatalities despite a troubling rise in fatal crashes nationwide. Boston is spending less than $5 per person, this is not enough.

Forty-seven neighborhood groups applied for Neighborhood Slow Streets, a signature program of Boston’s Vision Zero initiative. Your FY18 budget recommendation only provides resources to implement two to three in the coming year.

At the current rate of implementation it will take more than 20 years to respond to just the first round of applications. Safety should not be a privilege afforded to only some Boston neighborhoods.

We recognize that there are many competing budget priorities and that rapid change on our streets will cost money. This year we suggest drawing on the parking meter fund. In the long term, we are here to work with you to diversify and increase the revenue streams available for transportation, for example through increased parking revenues.

Simply put, the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition, and the thousands of people we represent, feel strongly that the 2018 transportation budget as currently proposed is insufficient to reduce the number of fatalities and serious crashes on our streets.

We hope you will take this opportunity to recommit to leading Boston as a Vision Zero city.

Thank You,

Vision Zero Coalition

CC: Boston City Council
Chief of Streets Chris Osgood
Transportation Commissioner Gina Fiandaca
Chief of Staff Dan Koh
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