A 25-year-old Birmingham man has died after crashing his motorcycle in the 800 block of Dennison Avenue, near Elmwood Cemetery, with no other vehicles involved in the wreck. Michael Deonta Milton was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, and Birmingham police are now investigating what led to the crash.
According to al.com, the wreck happened at 10:23 p.m. Saturday in the 800 block of Dennison Avenue. The outlet reports that Milton was taken to UAB Hospital, where he died Monday at 12:16 p.m. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates told the outlet that no other vehicles were involved in the crash.
A conflicting account from WBRC 6 News describes the crash as happening Monday night, and that version has Milton dying Tuesday morning at UAB Hospital, attributed to the coroner. The discrepancy between the two timelines has not been resolved, and Hoodline is presenting both as reported rather than picking one.
Police Investigation Continues
Birmingham police are investigating the circumstances of the crash, though no details have been released about road conditions, speed, helmet use, or whether any citations are expected. Milton lived in Birmingham, and both accounts agree he was 25 years old at the time of his death.
The crash near Elmwood Cemetery is the latest in a string of fatal motorcycle wrecks across Alabama this year. Just a day earlier, an off-duty Prattville police officer, Cpl. Dakota Davis, 25, died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 31 at the Interstate 65 interchange in Autauga County, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Davis had served with the Prattville Police Department for two years.
A Pattern of Fatal Crashes Statewide
Milton's death also follows a hit-and-run earlier this year on Interstate 65 in Birmingham, where a motorcyclist was killed Saturday night after an SUV struck the motorcycle near Arkadelphia Road, per WBRC's earlier reporting. That case remained a hit-and-run investigation, distinct from the solo crash that claimed Milton's life.
Statewide data underscores how dangerous motorcycle riding remains in Alabama. A five-year dataset covering July 2020 through June 2025 recorded roughly 30 motorcycle crashes per week and 457 fatal crashes overall, with most collisions occurring on Saturdays, the same outlet's data analysis found. The same report noted Alabama averages about two fatal motorcycle crashes in a typical week, and that Monday — despite seeing comparatively few crashes overall — saw a higher share of them turn fatal than other days.
Motorcycle deaths climbed sharply in recent years, with fatalities rising to 125 in 2024 from 92 the year before, according to data cited by waff.com. That same report noted 2025 was trending better, with 44 motorcycle fatalities recorded in the state through mid-year. A University of Alabama senior transportation engineer cited in the report said motorcyclists were about 28 times more likely than passenger-car occupants to die in a crash in 2023, while the same data showed motorcyclists themselves were responsible for 63% of fatal motorcycle crashes in 2024.
The danger isn't limited to any one corner of the state. The same report described four men killed in separate motorcycle crashes across North Alabama within a single week last year, including two in Huntsville, one in Decatur and one in Ider — among them Nathaniel Fletcher, who was struck head-on by a pickup truck whose driver was later arrested for leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
