Motorcyclist killed in early morning crash in Fort Collins, marking 4th death in weeks
A motorcyclist was killed Friday in a collision with a truck that closed the intersection of Prospect Road and Lemay Avenue for about 4½ hours, Fort Collins police said in a news release.
The identity of the motorcyclist, the second to be killed in a crash with a vehicle at an intersection along South Lemay Avenue in Fort Collins in five days, has not yet been released by the Larimer County coroner.
At least four motorcyclists have been killed in crashes in Larimer County this month, three in the past week.
Police said a 911 call reporting Friday’s crash came in at 5:03 a.m., noting that the motorcycle rider did not appear to be moving or breathing. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the rider had serious injuries and life-saving efforts were in progress, the news release said.
More: Coroner IDs victims in fatal motorcycle crashes in Fort Collins and Loveland
Emergency medical services took over life-saving efforts upon their arrival, but the rider was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation by the Fort Collins Police Collison Reconstruction and Scene Handling Team determined that the motorcycle was traveling westbound on Prospect Road approaching the intersection when a truck traveling eastbound began a left turn onto northbound Lemay Avenue. The motorcycle collided with the front fender of the passenger side of the truck.
Police are trying to determine if speed and/or right of way were factors in the crash. The intersection has traffic signals, including left-turn signals and designated left-turn lanes.
Another fatal motorcycle crash involving a vehicle turning left in front of an oncoming motorcycle occurred Sunday less than half a mile south of there, also on Lemay Avenue, at its intersection with Commanche Drive. There is no traffic signal at that intersection.
The Larimer County Coroner's Office has not yet released the identity of the motorcyclist killed in that crash.
“This is the second fatal crash involving a motorcycle in less than a week,” Fort Collins Police Sgt. Mike Avrech said in the news release. “We continue to ask all road users to be cognizant of their surroundings, follow traffic laws and observe rights of way as they are in place to keep all road users safe.”
Avrech oversees the Fort Collins Police Services CRASH Team that investigates serious and fatal crashes.
Anyone with information about Friday’s collision, including any video surveillance, is asked to call Fort Collins Police Officer Philip Morris at 970-221-6540.
Yet another fatal crash involving a motorcyclist occurred Saturday in Loveland, killing a 37-year-old from Loveland. The motorcyclist has not yet been identified by the Larimer County coroner.
Loveland police said the motorcyclist was traveling southbound in the 6300 block of North Garfield Avenue at a high rate of speed when he collided with the back of a truck towing a trailer and was ejected from the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was suffering from life-threatening injuries when police arrived on the scene and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said in the news release.
The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet, police said.
Colorado does not require motorcyclists to wear helmets.
Police were continuing to investigate whether speed and/or alcohol were contributing factors in that crash. There were no other injuries, police said.
Earlier this month, a 47-year-old man from Wellington, identified by the county coroner as Alan Davis, was killed in a motorcycle crash on U.S. Highway 287 at a rest area just north of Virginia Dale.
On July 8, Davis collided with another motorcycle traveling northbound. He had swerved out of his lane and back in to avoid a vehicle that had pulled out in front of him from the rest area exit, a Colorado State Patrol spokesperson said Friday.
Davis and an unidentified 70-year-old male on the other motorcycle both went down during the collision. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other rider was transported to a hospital with serious injuries, CSP Master Trooper Gary Cutler said. Both motorcyclists were wearing helmets, he said, and there were no indications that alcohol, drugs or impaired driving was involved.
Investigators are reviewing evidence, including dashcam video footage, to determine whether or not to charge the driver of the vehicle that Davis apparently swerved to avoid.
No additional information on that crash was immediately available Friday.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Motorcyclist killed in early morning crash in east Fort Collins
