Skip to Content
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Log In
Vision Zero

Preliminary Data Show Slight Decline In Motor Vehicle Killings For 2019

The aftermath of a truck crash on I-290 in Worcester.

Fewer people died on the Commonwealth's streets in 2019 compared to 2018, but motor vehicles still exacted a brutally high body count, with 339 lives lost in crashes across the state.

Data from MassDOT's IMPACT crash data portal show that cars claimed fewer lives in 2019 than in any other year since 2015, but it's impossible to determine whether that's from an actual trend towards safer streets, or whether the decline in killings for the past year was just a lucky fluke. Across the state as a whole, most crash victims were other motor vehicle users.

fatal-crash-victims-in-MASS

But in the core cities of the Boston region – Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea, and Everett – the majority of crash victims were people who were walking when a driver ended their lives.

Those casualties included Marilyn Wentworth, 66, a mother of two and lifelong resident of West Roxbury who was killed while walking across Centre Street in February; Sharon Hamer, 67, a retired Boston Public Schools librarian, who was killed by a truck driver while she was walking in Harvard Square; and Somerville residents Cheryl Pauline Richards, 52, and Kevin Dumont, 68, who were both killed by hit-and-run drivers along Mystic Avenue this summer.

Crash data for the municipalities in the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which covers 101 municipalities in the greater Boston region, show even more variability over the past 5 years, in spite of Vision Zero policies that have been adopted in the region's core cities:

fatal-crash-victims-metroBOS

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Boston’s Chief of Streets Reminds Business Leaders That ‘Our Roads Are Not Getting Bigger’

The city's business leaders have convened for a series of talks on Boston's transportation challenges, which impede the region's growth.

April 22, 2025

Concord and Lexington Declare Freedom From Cars For 250th Patriots’ Day Weekend

Numerous streets will be opened up for bikes and pedestrians for the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Concord and Lexington.

April 17, 2025

The Path Forward for Allston’s Highway Megaproject Is Getting Narrower

Is MassDOT ready to admit that Allston needs more trains and fewer lanes?

April 16, 2025

A State Cop Ran Her Over In a Brookline Crosswalk. Now Her Grandchildren Demand Answers.

A Mass. State Police officer drove into Margie Mendez in a Brookline crosswalk, inflicting fatal head injuries.

April 15, 2025
See all posts