A 34-year-old motorcyclist is dead after his bike went off the right side of Highway 24 and slammed into the side of a mountain just south of Cascade, throwing him from the motorcycle on Labor Day. Colorado State Patrol responded to the report shortly before 1 p.m. in the westbound lanes near milepost 295, and the rider was rushed to the hospital, where he was later declared dead.
Troopers say the man was heading westbound on Highway 24 when he lost control and struck the mountainside, according to FOX21 News Colorado. The precise time and location — 12:57 p.m. near milepost 295 — were detailed by SECO News. The El Paso County Coroner's Office will formally identify the victim, and CSP's Vehicular Crimes Unit is now investigating exactly what led the motorcycle to leave the roadway.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has relevant information is asked to contact Colorado State Patrol at (719) 544-2424, leave contact details for an investigator to call back, and reference case number VC260322.
A Notoriously Unforgiving Stretch of Mountain Highway
The crash site sits along a winding, high-speed corridor through Ute Pass that links El Paso County to Teller County. The stretch of Highway 24 between Cascade and Manitou Springs, from milepost 294 to 301, is lined with steep rockfaces that have required CDOT rockfall mitigation work — including rock scaling, drilling, and anchor installation — to keep boulders from tumbling onto the roadway, according to a post in the station's report by Heart of the Rockies Radio News. That same rugged terrain left little room for error when the motorcycle veered off the right shoulder.
The timing of the crash adds another grim marker to a summer already defined by heavy holiday traffic. It happened on Labor Day, the final day of what CDOT calls the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer,” the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day when crashes and fatalities historically spike across the state. Per the Colorado Department of Transportation, troopers had maintained heightened DUI and speed enforcement through Sept. 9 as part of the agency's seasonal safety push.
El Paso County's Grim Distinction Among Colorado Riders
This is not an isolated tragedy for the region. El Paso County was identified by Colorado State Patrol data as the deadliest county in the state for motorcycle fatalities in 2024, recording 26 rider deaths, a distinction Hoodline has previously reported in connection with other local crashes. Statewide, motorcycle fatalities hit a record 165 in 2024, accounting for nearly 24% of all traffic deaths despite motorcycles making up less than 3% of registered vehicles, according to The Colorado Sun.
That grim trend has not let up in 2026. The Sun also reported that Colorado logged 15 motorcycle fatalities in the first quarter of the year, the deadliest opening three months for riders since 2017, with unseasonably warm early weather keeping more bikes on the road. Colorado State Patrol and CDOT safety analyses point to excessive speed and impairment as the leading contributing factors in fatal motorcycle crashes statewide, with alcohol or drugs involved in roughly 20% of 2024 fatalities — the same factors CSP's Vehicular Crimes Unit routinely scrutinizes in crashes like this one.
Colorado's Helmet Law Leaves Most Riders Uncovered
Colorado remains one of just three states without a universal adult helmet law. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-1502, helmets are legally required only for operators and passengers under 18, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. State safety data shows that about 44% of fatal motorcycle crash victims in 2024 were not wearing a helmet. Colorado law does mandate protective eyewear for all riders and explicitly bans lane splitting or filtering through traffic, per Colorado State Patrol.
There have been some signs of improvement elsewhere in the county's traffic safety picture. Overall motor vehicle fatalities in El Paso County fell to 10 deaths in early 2025, down from 20 over the same period in 2024, according to Jordan Law. But that broader dip hasn't translated into safer outcomes for motorcyclists navigating corridors like Ute Pass, where this Labor Day crash marks the latest in a string of fatal single-vehicle motorcycle wrecks that Hoodline has tracked across El Paso County this year, including a deadly North Academy curve crash in July.
