Walking fatalities in Boston and Massachusetts 

One in five (20%) fatal motor vehicle crashes in Massachusetts in 2023 involved a pedestrian who was struck by a car driver. Over the course of the year, forty cities and towns experienced at least one fatal pedestrian crash, with eight municipalities experiencing multiple crashes. The majority of deaths occurred in communities promoting environmental justice (54%).

These insights come from Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in MA (2023) WalkMassachusetts’ third annual report tracking pedestrian deaths from motor vehicles around the Commonwealth. The report offers insight into pedestrian deaths by time of day, geography, and other factors to help inform safer streets.

Despite representing only 18% of the state’s population, older adults continue to account for 31.9% of victims.

With over three-quarters of fatal pedestrian crashes in 2023 happening on local streets controlled by a city or town (76.8%), WalkMassachusetts is introducing a new resource to educate and empower people to create safer streets in their own communities.

The cities of Boston, Springfield, and Brockton have each experienced a minimum of three fatal crashes annually, according to a recent report by WalkMassachusetts. Municipal streets accounted for the majority (76.8%) of these fatalities, while just 18.8% occurred on MassDOT roads. It is concerning that almost 70% of these tragic incidents occurred during low light conditions – either before sunrise or after sunset. Interestingly, more than half (54%) of the fatal pedestrian crashes happened within Environmental Justice Census Block Groups. Additionally, passenger cars were responsible for 70.8% of the vehicles involved in these crashes, followed by light trucks at 21.5%. (This category includes vans, minivans, pickups, and SUVs.) Shockingly, there were seven hit-and-run incidents that resulted in eight deaths as the driver fled the scene.