Police shut down a stretch of two major East Aurora roadways Thursday after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash at the intersection of Buffalo and Bowen roads. Buffalo Road is closed from Girard Avenue to Willardshire Road, while Bowen Road is closed from Hillcrest Road to Buffalo Road, and both closures are expected to remain in place while investigators work the scene.
East Aurora Police closed the intersection to conduct their investigation, according to WKBW. Authorities have not released the identity of the person killed or any details about how the crash occurred, and motorists have been advised to avoid the area and find an alternate route.
The department, which handles law enforcement for both the Village of East Aurora and the surrounding Town of Aurora under an intermunicipal agreement, often works alongside the Erie County Sheriff's Office on major crash investigations, per the Town of Aurora. It is not yet known whether county investigators are assisting with this case.
A Second Fatal Motorcycle Case in Months
This is not the first deadly motorcycle crash East Aurora Police have investigated this year. In June, the department investigated a separate fatal motorcycle crash on Mill Road in the Town of Aurora that killed a 38-year-old rider, according to WGRZ. The area has also seen other serious crashes recently, including a motorcycle collision at Bowen Road and Cemetery Road last July and a two-car crash on Buffalo Road near Willardshire Road last August that sent two children to Oishei Children's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, WGRZ reported at the time.
Statewide, motorcyclists face steep odds compared to other drivers. Riders are roughly 22 times more likely to die in a crash per mile traveled than passenger vehicle occupants, despite making up just 3.5% of registered vehicles, according to the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. In 2024 alone, 189 motorcyclists died in crashes across New York out of 4,681 total personal injury motorcycle collisions.
Statewide Numbers Show a Mixed Picture
There are some signs of progress. Preliminary state traffic statistics released in late 2025 showed New York motorcycle fatalities dropped from 157 between January and October 2024 to 134 over the same ten-month stretch in 2025, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles reported.
New York has required motorcyclists to wear protective gear since it became the first state to enact a universal helmet law in 1967. Under Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 381, every operator and passenger must wear a USDOT-certified helmet and approved eye protection at all times, according to Chopra & Nocerino. Violations can carry penalties of up to a $100 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both, per Harding Mazzotti, LLP.
Critically injured crash victims in Erie County are typically transported to Erie County Medical Center, which operates Western New York's sole Level 1 Adult Trauma Center. It remains unknown whether the motorcyclist killed Thursday was taken there or elsewhere, as police have not released details about the response to the scene.
No further information about the crash, the cause, or the identity of the person killed has been released. Police have not said when the roads are expected to reopen.
