Which Massachusetts Towns Record the Most Hit-and-Run Crashes?

Worcester records the most hit-and-run crashes of any Massachusetts community, 3,090 from 2022 through 2024, and Cambridge and Malden record the highest shares, about 32 per cent of all their crashes against 8.77 per cent statewide, but the town figures describe how each police department records crashes almost as much as how drivers behave. The statewide pattern is the part to trust, and it is sharper than the town list: a hit-and-run is far less likely than other crashes to injure anyone, except when the person struck is on foot. Nineteen of the 28 fatal hit-and-run crashes in those three years killed a pedestrian.

Every figure on this page comes from the MassDOT IMPACT open crash data for 2022, 2023 and 2024, the state’s public database built from police crash reports. A crash counts as a hit-and-run when the reporting officer marks, in a dedicated field on the crash record, that a driver involved left the scene without stopping. The live data returned 405,241 crashes when it was pulled on 27 September 2026, two more than the September 1 snapshot behind the Massachusetts crash report; of those, 35,555 are recorded as hit-and-run. Your own town’s totals, injuries, fatal crashes and highest-crash roads are in that report.

The Statewide Picture

Hit-and-runs are common and, on the whole, less violent than other crashes. The exception is the pedestrian.

Crash type, 2022 to 2024	All crashes	Hit-and-run	Hit-and-run share
Every crash	405,241	35,555	8.77%
Crashes with a non-fatal injury	92,761	3,393	3.66%
Fatal crashes	1,087	28	2.58%
Crashes involving a bicycle	4,356	334	7.67%
Crashes involving a pedestrian	5,980	726	12.14%
Fatal crashes involving a pedestrian	238	19	7.98%
Crashes after dark	110,265	12,417	11.26%
Pedestrian crashes after dark	2,119	325	15.34%

Read across, three things stand out.

Most hit-and-runs hurt no one. Only 9.54 per cent of hit-and-run crashes involved an injury, against 24.17 per cent of all other crashes. That is mostly because of what gets hit, which the next section explains.

A pedestrian crash is more likely than any other kind to be a hit-and-run. One in about eight pedestrian crashes, 12.14 per cent, was recorded as a hit-and-run, and after dark the share rises to 15.34 per cent. Among fatal crashes the pattern is stark: hit-and-runs are 2.58 per cent of all fatal crashes, but 19 of the 28 fatal hit-and-runs were pedestrian crashes. Put the other way, a person killed in a hit-and-run in Massachusetts in these years was most often someone on foot.

The count rose and stayed up. Hit-and-run crashes went from 10,525 in 2022 to 12,489 in 2023 and 12,541 in 2024, an increase of about 19 per cent over two years while total crashes barely moved (134,472, 135,326 and 135,443). The data records that the number rose. It does not say why, and a change in how departments fill in the field would produce the same line as a change in driving.

Why a Third of Hit-and-Runs Hit Nobody

The crash record also carries the first harmful event, meaning the first thing the vehicle struck: another vehicle in traffic, a parked car, a pedestrian, a pole. For hit-and-runs it splits like this: 19,617 were collisions with another vehicle in traffic (55.2 per cent), 10,823 were collisions with a parked motor vehicle (30.4 per cent), and 764 were collisions with a pedestrian (2.1 per cent).

That second number, the parked-car strike, is the dented door found in the morning. Across Massachusetts, 42,611 crashes began with a strike on a parked car, and 10,823 of them, 25.4 per cent, were recorded as hit-and-runs. Those crashes rarely injure anyone, and they are the main reason the hit-and-run injury rate is so low. Take the parked cars out and the statewide hit-and-run share of the remaining 362,630 crashes is 6.82 per cent.

The Town Numbers Are Partly a Record of the Police Department

Here is where a town-by-town reading needs care. Whether a strike on an unattended parked car becomes a crash record at all, and whether it is marked as a hit-and-run, depends heavily on the department that takes the report, and the spread between neighbouring communities is too large to be explained by driving.

• Cambridge and Somerville share a border and a street grid. In Cambridge, 714 of 1,230 parked-car crashes were recorded as hit-and-runs, 58 per cent. In Somerville it was 15 of 260, about 6 per cent.
• Two towns recorded none. Norwood recorded 69 parked-car crashes and Wareham 120 over the three years, and not one in either town was marked as a hit-and-run.
• Pedestrian records show the same split. Lynn recorded 77 hit-and-runs among 268 pedestrian crashes. Lawrence, another older Essex County city, recorded 1 among 145.

Across the 99 communities with at least 50 parked-car crashes, the median share recorded as hit-and-run is about 17 per cent. The extremes do not disappear when parked cars are removed, either: Cambridge is still at 23.3 per cent and Somerville at 3.9 per cent, which suggests the difference runs through how each department fills in the field generally, not only through parked cars. That is an inference from the records, not a finding about any department’s practices, and nothing here says any report was mishandled.

It matters to anyone hit by a driver who left, because the statute is clear about the report. Under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26, a driver in a crash causing injury or more than $1,000 of damage must report in writing to the registrar within five days and send a copy to the police, and “such police department shall accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in an accident in which another person has unlawfully left the scene of such accident.” A report you file is evidence for your own insurance claim whether or not it later appears in a statewide database.

Where the 25 Largest Covered Cities Fall

The table covers the 25 cities with full local pages on this site. The last two columns are the ones to read for comparison: the share with parked-car strikes removed, and the pedestrian crashes recorded as hit-and-run.

City	Crashes	Hit-and-run	Share	Parked-car strikes recorded as hit-and-run	Share, parked-car strikes removed	Pedestrian crashes recorded as hit-and-run
Boston	17,407	2,231	12.8%	417 of 1,345 (31%)	11.3%	70 of 491
Worcester	15,598	3,090	19.8%	1,143 of 2,552 (45%)	14.9%	74 of 327
Springfield	11,109	1,433	12.9%	410 of 1,365 (30%)	10.5%	51 of 214
New Bedford	11,070	1,457	13.2%	811 of 3,203 (25%)	8.2%	33 of 197
Fall River	9,045	961	10.6%	403 of 1,951 (21%)	7.9%	35 of 213
Lowell	7,781	1,333	17.1%	413 of 1,207 (34%)	14.0%	24 of 179
Brockton	7,378	255	3.5%	43 of 630 (7%)	3.1%	11 of 183
Taunton	6,644	606	9.1%	196 of 792 (25%)	7.0%	6 of 45
Quincy	6,455	786	12.2%	210 of 814 (26%)	10.2%	29 of 155
Lynn	6,074	1,347	22.2%	510 of 1,182 (43%)	17.1%	77 of 268
Lawrence	5,385	189	3.5%	52 of 822 (6%)	3.0%	1 of 145
Chicopee	5,238	772	14.7%	248 of 766 (32%)	11.7%	14 of 72
Newton	4,924	641	13.0%	222 of 638 (35%)	9.8%	12 of 120
Haverhill	4,815	728	15.1%	302 of 808 (37%)	10.6%	11 of 79
Cambridge	4,774	1,539	32.2%	714 of 1,230 (58%)	23.3%	40 of 220
Framingham	4,359	671	15.4%	169 of 354 (48%)	12.5%	11 of 79
Waltham	4,333	724	16.7%	320 of 771 (42%)	11.3%	13 of 84
Medford	3,984	705	17.7%	361 of 813 (44%)	10.8%	15 of 83
Peabody	3,746	196	5.2%	46 of 320 (14%)	4.4%	0 of 41
Weymouth	3,384	189	5.6%	48 of 287 (17%)	4.6%	7 of 50
Malden	2,791	892	32.0%	432 of 767 (56%)	22.7%	17 of 104
Plymouth	2,735	121	4.4%	22 of 203 (11%)	3.9%	4 of 27
Revere	2,298	137	6.0%	13 of 212 (6%)	5.9%	3 of 75
Somerville	1,999	82	4.1%	15 of 260 (6%)	3.9%	6 of 76
Brookline	1,231	97	7.9%	21 of 139 (15%)	7.0%	2 of 74

Worcester’s 3,090 is the largest count in the state and Boston’s 2,231 the second, but Boston records more pedestrian crashes than any other city (491) and a lower share of them as hit-and-runs (70, about 14 per cent) than Lynn (29 per cent), Springfield (24 per cent) or Worcester (23 per cent). Boston also recorded six of the state’s 28 fatal hit-and-runs, more than any other community; Worcester, Brockton and Methuen recorded two each.

Answer Capsule

MassDOT crash records for 2022 through 2024 contain 405,241 crashes, of which 35,555 (8.77 per cent) are recorded as hit-and-runs. Worcester has the most (3,090) and Cambridge (32.2 per cent) and Malden (32.0 per cent) the highest shares among the 25 largest cities, but town shares depend heavily on how each police department records crashes: Cambridge marked 58 per cent of its parked-car strikes as hit-and-runs and neighbouring Somerville 6 per cent, while Norwood and Wareham marked none. Statewide, 30.4 per cent of hit-and-runs were strikes on parked cars, and only 9.54 per cent of hit-and-runs involved an injury, against 24.17 per cent of other crashes. Pedestrians are the exception: 12.14 per cent of pedestrian crashes were hit-and-runs, 15.34 per cent after dark, and 19 of the 28 fatal hit-and-run crashes were pedestrian crashes. Hit-and-run crashes rose from 10,525 in 2022 to 12,541 in 2024 while total crashes were flat. Under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26, police must accept a report from a driver whose vehicle was damaged by someone who unlawfully left the scene.

If a Driver Hits You and Leaves

The criminal case against the driver and your own recovery run on separate tracks, and the second one does not wait for the first.

1. Get medical help and call the police from the scene if you can. A report made at the time, with the officer’s own observations, is the strongest record of what happened.
2. Write down everything about the other vehicle while it is fresh. Plate, even partial; make, colour and damage; direction of travel; the time. Ask anyone who stopped for their name and number.
3. File the written crash report within five days when anyone was hurt or damage to any one vehicle or property is over $1,000, as M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26 requires, and send a copy to the police department for the place the crash happened. The police must accept it when the other driver unlawfully left.
4. Notify your own insurer promptly. Personal injury protection (PIP) is the no-fault part of a Massachusetts auto policy, meaning it pays regardless of who caused the crash. Under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A it pays at least $8,000 for reasonable medical expenses and lost wages, and it covers members of your household “struck as a pedestrian” by a vehicle not insured by a policy providing that protection. The statute defines “pedestrian” to include people operating bicycles.
5. Ask about uninsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is the part of your own policy that stands in for a driver who has no insurance, or who hit you and left. M.G.L. c. 175, sec. 113L(1) requires Massachusetts auto policies to protect insured persons who are legally entitled to recover damages from owners or operators of “uninsured motor vehicles… and hit-and-run motor vehicles because of bodily injury.” The uninsured motorist coverage article explains how that claim works.
6. Keep the three-year clock in mind. A tort action is the civil lawsuit for an injury caused by someone else’s fault, and under M.G.L. c. 260, sec. 2A tort actions must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues, which for a crash is usually the day it happened.

What the Driver Faces and What You Can Recover

	The driver who left	The person who was hit
Property damage only	M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a): fine of $20 to $200, or two weeks to two years, or both	The damage question turns on the coverages on your own policy; the sec. 26 report supports the claim
Injury, no death	Sec. 24(2)(a1/2)(1): six months to two years and a fine of $500 to $1,000	PIP of at least $8,000 under c. 90, sec. 34A; uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury under c. 175, sec. 113L
Death	Sec. 24(2)(a1/2)(2): state prison for 2.5 to 10 years and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, among other sentences	Uninsured motorist coverage under c. 175, sec. 113L reaches bodily injury “including death resulting therefrom”
Time limit	Set by the criminal statutes	Three years for a tort action under c. 260, sec. 2A

The full penalty structure, including the difference between the three offences, is in the hit-and-run penalty article.

Key terms

• Hit-and-run crash: a crash record in which the reporting officer marked the hit-and-run field “Yes,” meaning a driver involved left without stopping.
• First harmful event: the first thing a vehicle struck in the crash, such as another vehicle in traffic, a parked car or a pedestrian.
• Parked-car strike: a crash whose first harmful event was a collision with a parked motor vehicle, the source of about three in ten recorded hit-and-runs.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): no-fault coverage under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A paying at least $8,000 for reasonable medical expenses and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash.
• Uninsured motorist coverage: coverage required by M.G.L. c. 175, sec. 113L that pays insured persons for bodily injury caused by uninsured and hit-and-run motor vehicles.
• Recording practice: the way a police department completes crash records, which this data shows varies enough between neighbouring towns to change their hit-and-run figures.

Related Pages

Where pedestrians are hit most often, town by town, is covered in the pedestrian crash data article, and a pedestrian’s rights after a crash in the pedestrian rights article. Why darkness raises the fatal rate is in the night crash article. The collision mix for each town, including Cambridge’s unusual share of same-direction sideswipes, is in crash types by town. The reporting duty itself is explained in how to report a car accident in Massachusetts, and hiring information for the city with the most recorded hit-and-runs is on the Worcester car accident page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many hit-and-run crashes happen in Massachusetts?

A: MassDOT crash records contain 35,555 hit-and-run crashes from 2022 through 2024, 8.77 per cent of the 405,241 crashes recorded. The yearly count was 10,525 in 2022, 12,489 in 2023 and 12,541 in 2024.

Q: Which Massachusetts city has the most hit-and-run crashes?

A: Worcester, with 3,090 recorded from 2022 through 2024, followed by Boston with 2,231. By share of all crashes, Cambridge (32.2 per cent) and Malden (32.0 per cent) are highest among the 25 largest cities, though town shares depend heavily on how each police department records crashes.

Q: Why does Cambridge have so many more hit-and-runs than Somerville?

A: Mostly because of what gets recorded. Cambridge marked 714 of its 1,230 parked-car crashes as hit-and-runs; Somerville marked 15 of 260. Two neighbouring cities with similar streets would not differ tenfold in driver behaviour, so the difference most likely reflects how each department completes crash records. That is an inference from the data, not a finding about either department.

Q: Are pedestrians more likely to be victims of a hit-and-run?

A: Yes. 12.14 per cent of Massachusetts pedestrian crashes from 2022 through 2024 were recorded as hit-and-runs, against 8.77 per cent of all crashes, and 15.34 per cent of pedestrian crashes after dark. Nineteen of the 28 fatal hit-and-run crashes in those years were pedestrian crashes.

Q: Will the police take a report if the other driver left?

A: They must. M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 26 says the police department “shall accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in an accident in which another person has unlawfully left the scene of such accident.”

Q: Who pays my medical bills after a hit-and-run in Massachusetts?

A: Usually your own auto policy first. Personal injury protection under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A pays at least $8,000 toward reasonable medical expenses and lost wages, including for household members struck as pedestrians, and uninsured motorist coverage under c. 175, sec. 113L covers bodily injury caused by hit-and-run vehicles.

Q: Does a bicyclist hit by a driver who leaves count as a pedestrian for PIP?

A: For personal injury protection, yes. M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 34A says the term “pedestrian” includes persons operating bicycles, tricycles and similar vehicles.

Q: Is Jimmy Knows AI giving me legal advice?

A: No. This page is general information drawn from public MassDOT crash records and the Massachusetts General Laws, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. What coverage applies after a hit-and-run depends on your policy, your household and the facts of the crash, so a specific situation should be reviewed with a lawyer.

Talking to a Lawyer

A hit-and-run leaves the injured person without the one thing most claims start from, the other driver’s insurer. What remains is your own policy, your household’s policies, the police report and whatever evidence was gathered in the first few days, and those are the pieces worth organising early.

Jim Glaser Law can be reached at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is offered without charge. Cases accepted on a contingency basis carry no attorney fee unless there is a recovery, and case costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement signed at intake.