A 33-year-old man died after he was struck by two eastbound vehicles while trying to cross Interstate 76 near East Bromley Lane in Brighton, police said. The pedestrian died from his injuries at the scene, and eastbound I-76 was shut down for several hours as officers investigated and cleared the crash.
Brighton officers responded to the fatal crash on the night of October 3, according to a police news release, as reported by The Denver Post. Police said the man was hit as he attempted to cross the highway, and both drivers involved remained at the scene and are cooperating with the investigation. The Adams County Coroner's Office is expected to formally identify the victim.
Eastbound lanes reopened shortly after 11 p.m., per a police social media post cited in the same report. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Brighton Police Department at 303-655-8740.
A Familiar and Dangerous Stretch of Highway
This is not the first fatal crash Hoodline has covered near this exact interchange. In a February rollover, a 24-year-old driver was killed when a box truck flipped on westbound I-76 near East Bromley Lane, temporarily blocking those lanes. And in April, Brighton police investigated a separate pre-dawn pedestrian fatality just down the road at the junction of U.S. Highway 85 and East Bromley Lane, which forced northbound lane closures.
The pattern extends beyond Brighton. Last month, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a semi-truck on southbound Interstate 25 near Mead, triggering a multi-hour closure while state troopers investigated how the person had entered the interstate in the first place.
Adams County's Outsized Share of Pedestrian Deaths
The crash lands squarely within a broader and troubling statistical trend. Between 2020 and 2025, Adams County recorded 99 pedestrian fatalities, the second-highest total of any county in Colorado behind only Denver County's 140, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. A separate Colorado State Patrol crash analysis covering 2019 through 2023 identified Adams County as the state's top county for fatal and serious-injury crashes in which pedestrians were present on roadways where walking is not permitted.
Statewide, pedestrian deaths have climbed sharply over the past decade. CDOT figures show fatalities nearly doubled, rising 98.4% from 64 deaths in 2015 to 131 in 2025, with pedestrians now accounting for nearly one-fifth of all Colorado traffic deaths. October is historically the deadliest month of the year for pedestrians in the state, with 74 fatalities recorded statewide between 2021 and 2025, as nearly 60% of all pedestrian deaths occur between September and February amid shrinking daylight hours.
Visibility and Legal Restrictions on Interstate Crossings
The crash occurred at night as the man attempted to cross I-76.
Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-805, a person under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or stupefying drugs may not walk or be on highway portions normally used by moving traffic, according to FindLaw. The statute also prohibits soliciting rides on an interstate except in specified circumstances, per Colorado's public law code.
Investigators have not said why the man was crossing the highway at night, and police have not indicated whether impairment, vehicle speed, or lighting conditions played a role in the crash. The coroner's office has not yet released his identity.
