A 31-year-old Taunton man died Tuesday evening after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Route 138 and Elm Street in Raynham. Jason Marshall was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, which identified him as the victim.
Raynham Police and EMS responded to the intersection after 911 callers reported the crash at around 7:50 p.m., as reported by NBC Boston. When officers arrived, they found Marshall's 1999 Suzuki TL 1000 motorcycle and a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck both located within the intersection, per WBSM, which reported the specific vehicle models involved. Debris was scattered throughout the intersection, and the Silverado had heavy damage to its right side while Marshall's motorcycle sustained disabling damage.
The driver of the pickup truck, a 57-year-old man, remained at the scene and spoke to police. NBC Boston's report notes that no charges had been announced by authorities as of Wednesday, and the cause of the crash remained unclear. Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the case are conducting an active and ongoing investigation.
An Intersection With a History
The crash site has drawn scrutiny before. Minutes from a November 2021 Town of Raynham meeting show that MassDOT had previously identified Route 138, also known as Broadway, and its junction with Elm Street as a high-crash location warranting safety and infrastructure evaluation. That designation predates this week's fatal collision by nearly five years, underscoring long-standing concerns about the roadway.
Standard protocol in Bristol County calls for major traffic fatalities to be investigated jointly by local police and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III's office, according to information shared on the DA's office Facebook page. That structure means any decision on citations or charges against the truck driver will likely wait until investigators complete a full crash reconstruction.
Part of a Statewide Surge in Motorcycle Deaths
Marshall's death adds to a troubling statewide pattern. MassDOT crash portal data released by state transportation officials showed motorcycle operator fatalities in Massachusetts jumped 22 percent in 2024, rising to 71 operator deaths from 58 the year before, according to Mass.gov. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures cited by the Kiley Law Group indicate that, per mile traveled, motorcyclists are roughly 24 times more likely to die in a crash than occupants of passenger cars.
Nationally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that motorcycles account for about 16 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths despite making up only around 3 percent of registered vehicles. Massachusetts crash analysis also shows that the vast majority of the state's annual motorcycle fatalities happen during the peak riding season between May and September, placing this week's crash squarely within that seasonal window.
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 7, all motorcycle operators and passengers are required to wear protective headgear meeting federal safety standards at all times. It remains unknown whether that requirement factored into the outcome of Tuesday's crash.
A Recurring Pattern on Raynham Roads
Hoodline previously reported that a 54-year-old Taunton woman was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Raynham last month, an incident also investigated by Raynham Police and the Bristol County DA's office. And in January 2025, Hoodline covered a serious collision in nearby Taunton in which a 14-year-old motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash with a car, an investigation that required the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. Together, the cases point to a stretch of Bristol County roadway that continues to draw attention from investigators and safety officials alike.
