Traffic deaths in Colorado increased in 2025, reversing a decline in recent years, with about one in three deaths related to impaired driving, according to state data released Thursday.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials said that, while the increase is small, they see troubling trends and plan to refocus safety efforts around impaired driving and deaths involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
A total of 701 people died on Colorado roads in 2025, an increase of 1.7% over the 689 fatalities reported in 2024, the data show. The number is still below the a record-setting 764 fatalities in 2022.
Impaired driving remains a leading factor in traffic deaths, CDOT officials said in a news release. CDOT recorded 234 deaths in crashes involving an impaired driver in 2025. Since 2022, impaired driving-related fatalities have decreased by 18%, state records show.
A breakdown of CDOT’s 2025 numbers shows the fatalities included 124 pedestrians, 18 bicyclists, and 146 motorcyclists. Car and truck crashes accounted for 392 fatalities.
CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol plan increased patrols aimed at “removing impaired drivers from our roads,” Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the patrol, said in a statement. “Even if you think you’re OK to drive, the consequences of impaired driving are never worth the risk. Use a ride-share service, public transportation, or call a sober friend. Your commitment to sober driving could save a life.”
An Aurora pedestrian died Saturday night after being hit by a car while crossing the street, police said.
The pedestrian, a 43-year-old man who has not been publicly identified, was walking west across Peoria Street at East Colfax Avenue outside of the crosswalk when he was hit, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department. The crash happened just before 11 p.m. Saturday.
He was also crossing against the traffic signal, police said. The white Ford SUV that hit the man while driving south on Peoria Street had a green light.
Paramedics took the man to the hospital, where he later died, police said. He will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.
Speed and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash, according to the Aurora Police Department.
As of Sunday evening, no charges were expected to be filed in the crash “unless additional details are obtained through the investigation and/or reconstruction of the scene,” police said.
A pedestrian died Friday night in a Denver crash on Interstate 25, police said.
The Denver Police Department first posted about the crash on southbound I-25 near West Alameda Avenue at 9:56 p.m. Friday. The pedestrian, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene of the crash, police said in a 10 a.m. Saturday update.
As of Saturday morning, the cause of the crash remained under investigation. Additional information on the crash, including whether the driver remained on scene, was not available Sunday.
The pedestrian will be identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.
A pedestrian was killed Thursday in a Lakewood crash near Smith Reservoir, police said.
Lakewood officers responded to the fatal crash at S. Kipling Parkway and W. Jewell Avenue Thursday morning, according to a 6:48 a.m. post from the police department.
The crash shut down southbound Kipling at Jewell, but the northbound lanes remained open, police said.
Police expect a lengthy road closure during the crash cleanup and investigation. Drivers should avoid the area and take alternate routes.
Information about the cause of the crash and whether anyone else was injured was not immediately available Thursday morning, but police said it was not a hit-and-run.
A woman walking in the traffic lanes of I-440 died Friday night after being struck by several vehicles.
File photo
A woman who was walking between traffic lanes on I-440 died after being struck by several vehicles Friday night, Raleigh police said Saturday morning.
Quiyanna Kellon, 46, was walking on the white lines diving lanes on westbound I-440 between Wake Forest and Six Forks roads about 9 p.m. when she was struck by a 2024 Hyundai Elantra, police said. She was then stuck by several other vehicles, which the police did not identify.
Police said all of the drivers remained on the scene.
Kellon died as a result of her injuries, police said. The investigation is continuing.
Dave Hendrickson is the N&O’s growth and business editor. In 40+ years of journalism, he has worked for newspapers in Wisconsin, Virginia and North Carolina.
The northbound lanes of Wadsworth Boulevard reopened in Lakewood Friday morning after several hours of closure following a fatal crash.
A driver struck a pedestrian near the boulevard’s intersection with West Eastman Place, Lakewood police said in a social media message at 7:47 a.m. The intersection is just north of U.S. 285.
One woman died from her injuries at the scene, and paramedics took a second woman to a hospital with an amputated leg. She died Monday, sheriff’s spokesperson John Bartmann said.
As of Tuesday morning, neither woman’s identity had been released publicly. The Arapahoe County coroner’s office will release their identities and causes of death.
Investigators believe the two women were crossing East Smoky Hill Road near South Waco Street to get to a bus stop when they were hit by a car about 10 p.m. Sunday, Bartmann said.
The unidentified driver was headed west on Smoky Hill when the driver hit the women, who were not crossing in a designated crosswalk, Bartmann said.
The crash site was near Big Sandy Park in Centennial, about 4 miles east of Cherry Creek State Park.
No additional information on the cause of the crash, including whether drugs or alcohol are suspected to have been involved, was available Tuesday.
The driver stayed at the scene of the crash and is cooperating with the investigation, Bartmann said.
A Sunday night crash in Arapahoe County killed one pedestrian and amputated another’s leg, according to the sheriff’s office.
Arapahoe County deputies responded at about 10 p.m. Sunday to the crash at East Smoky Hill Road and South Waco Street, spokesperson John Bartmann said. One driver struck two pedestrians, he said.
The intersection is near Big Sandy Park in Centennial, about 4 miles east of Cherry Creek State Park.
One pedestrian died at the scene of the crash, and paramedics took the other to the hospital with an amputated leg, Bartmann said.
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office will publicly identify the victim who died in the crash.
Bartmann said the driver stayed on scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
No information on the cause of the crash, including whether drugs or alcohol are suspected to have been involved, or on potential charges was available Monday.
Police are investigating after a Sunday night crash killed a pedestrian on the edge of Denver and Lakewood.
The Denver Police Department first posted about the fatal crash near South Sheridan Boulevard and West Center Avenue at 10:29 p.m. Sunday. That intersection is on the western border of Denver’s Westwood neighborhood.
The unidentified pedestrian died at the scene of the crash, police said.
Additional information about the crash — including whether the driver remained on scene, if any additional injuries were reported and the cause of the crash — was not immediately available Monday morning.
Pedestrian deaths in Denver have jumped more than 50% in 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to city transportation officials.
As of Tuesday, 25 pedestrians had been killed in crashes so far this year in Denver, according to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. By that date last year, 16 pedestrians had died.
“It is breaking our hearts because we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of fatal crashes with pedestrians in Denver and around the state,” Amy Ford, executive director of the city’s transportation department, said Wednesday.
Pedestrian deaths account for nearly half of all Denver road deaths reported this year, city officials said.
The additional crash fatalities included 17 people in cars, six motorcyclists, seven people on scooters and three bicyclists — a total of 58 victims.
Motorists and motorcyclists killed in Denver crashes dropped between 2024 and 2025, but the increase in pedestrian deaths caused overall traffic fatalities to rise slightly, according to data provided by city officials.
Denver’s 16 pedestrian deaths during the first nine months of 2024 appear to be lower than the average over the past four years. City transportation data shows 24 pedestrians died in 2023, followed by 22 in 2022.
City officials are working to reduce fatal crashes in several different ways, Ford said.
Transportation staff started a speed-reduction program along Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue, which includes changing the timing of stoplights and adding radar speed signs that show drivers how fast they’re going.
On York Street, transportation crews reconfigured lanes between 18th and 40th avenues to add left turn lanes and reduce crashes, and new center medians on West Colfax and Hampden avenues make a shorter distance for pedestrians to cross the street, Ford said.
Vulnerable road user deaths have also spiked significantly across Colorado in the past 10 years, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in Colorado increased 78% between 2015 and 2024, while passenger vehicle deaths increased 7% during that same timeframe.
Last year was the second-deadliest year on record for pedestrians and bicyclists in Colorado, with 134 fatalities, state patrol officials said.
And October 2024 was the deadliest month on record for pedestrians, Colorado Department of Transportation chief of staff Sally Chafee said.
Part of that is because it’s getting darker earlier as the season changes, she said.
“Our Colorado lifestyle doesn’t stop because the sun sets earlier,” Chafee said. “People are still out walking, running and cycling, but in the dusk and darkness they’re incredibly difficult to see.”
Chafee urged drivers to always expect pedestrians to be present and for pedestrians and cyclists to wear bright, reflective clothing and pay attention to their surroundings
So far in 2025, crashes have killed 94 pedestrians and bicyclists across the state, according to CDOT’s fatal crash data portal. Those include four people who were struck and killed on highway shoulders in Denver this year after getting out of their vehicles because of car trouble.
Drivers should never get out of their vehicles on the shoulder and instead call a tow truck or roadside assistance and wait inside, Chafee said.
If someone must get out of their car, they should move to the other side of the guardrail and as far away from the roadway as possible, she said.
A pedestrian died Saturday night in a crash near Sloan’s Lake, Denver police said.
The Denver Police Department first posted about the fatal crash near West 17th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard at 10:46 p.m. Saturday.
That intersection is on the southwest edge of Sloan’s Lake Park.
The pedestrian, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene, police said. The unidentified driver stayed on scene after the crash.
Sheridan was closed in both directions at 17th for several hours during the crash cleanup and investigation, police said. It had fully reopened Sunday morning, according to an 8:18 a.m. update from the department.
The pedestrian will be identified by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner at a later date.
Information about the cause of the crash was not available Sunday morning.
Sheriff’s deputies have closed the eastbound lanes of East Arapahoe Road at South Dexter Street in Centennial after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a driver Monday morning.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office said the driver of the vehicle that hit the pedestrian remained on scene and is being cooperative. Traffic is being diverted on to South Dexter Street and the eastbound lanes of East Arapahoe Road are expected to remain closed until at least 9 a.m.
It’s not clear from the sheriff’s office post on X what caused the collision but a photo that was posted on the social media platform shows a road that is partially covered by snow.
A snowstorm that hit the metro area Sunday night and into Monday morning led to multiple road closures in and around the area.
