Deadly pedestrian crashes up 35 percent in Massachusetts, report says
BOSTON - A new report shows a big jump in deadly pedestrian crashes in Massachusetts last year.
The report from state-wide advocacy group WalkBoston said 75 pedestrians were killed by vehicles in 2021. In 2022, that number jumped to 101. That's a 35 percent increase.
Boston saw the most pedestrian deaths in 2022 with 12, followed by Worcester with seven and Chicopee with five. Most of the victims were age 50 and older. The majority also occurred in the dark, either before sunrise or after sunset, in impoverished neighborhoods. Ten of the deadly crashes were hit-and-runs.
"Even from a driver's perspective, they don't want to hit people," WalkBoston Deputy Director Brendan Kearney told WBZ-TV. "They want to make sure that they know this is an area with a lot of people walking, a lot of people crossing. Maybe there's more housing, maybe there's a school. So now there are more people walking in the neighborhood, there are more people trying to cross the street. Maybe there's more shops."
WalkBoston says there are ways to reduce pedestrian deaths, like lowering speed limits, and called on state lawmakers and MassDOT to act.
"There's not one solution, there's a whole suite of solutions," Kearney said. "Yes, raised crosswalks are important. Yes, speed bumps are important."
