Traffic Deaths Doubling in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs has recorded at least 14 traffic deaths by mid-April, about double last year’s pace, after another fatal crash shut down North Academy Boulevard on April 22. (coloradosprings.gov, gazette.com, koaa.com) Police said one person died and four others were injured in the April 22 crash near North Academy Boulevard and Lehman Drive. The Colorado Springs Police Department had already counted 14 traffic fatalities by April 17, up from seven at the same point in 2025. (koaa.com, gazette.com) The city’s running total climbed quickly this month. Police said a March 22 head-on crash near Briargate Boulevard and Lexington Drive became the year’s 11th traffic death, a March 19 pedestrian crash at Circle Drive and Fountain Boulevard became the 13th, and an April 12 rollover at Dublin Boulevard and Gambol Quail Drive West became the 14th. (coloradosprings.gov, coloradosprings.gov, gazette.com) Investigators have repeatedly pointed to speed in recent cases. Police said speed is being investigated in the Briargate head-on crash, was a suspected factor in the April 12 rollover, and was a contributing factor in an April 7 motorcycle crash near Corporate Drive and Mark Dabling Boulevard that killed 48-year-old Michael DeRivera. (coloradosprings.gov, gazette.com, gazette.com) City officials have been building a broader response for months. Colorado Springs says its Transportation Safety Action Plan is scheduled for adoption in May 2026 and is designed to cut serious and fatal crashes using the federal Safe System approach, which assumes people will make mistakes and tries to make roads less deadly when they do. (coloradosprings.gov) The draft plan sets a target of reducing serious crashes 35% by 2035, using 2023 data as a baseline. City traffic engineer Todd Frisbie told The Gazette the city’s “high risk network” makes up 5% of roadway miles but accounts for 53% of severe crashes. (gazette.com, coloradosprings.gov) Those dangerous corridors include major roads such as Austin Bluffs Parkway, South Academy Boulevard, Union Boulevard and North Powers Boulevard. The draft plan also says about two-thirds of the city’s severe crashes happen at intersections, where broadside and turning collisions are more common. (gazette.com) Police have also stepped up enforcement. The Colorado Springs Police Department said a regional vehicle-registration surge from April 5 through April 11 produced 371 citations, with Colorado State Patrol, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Monument, Fountain and Palmer Lake taking part. (coloradosprings.gov, krdo.com) For now, the city’s own fatal-crash releases keep returning to the same pattern: more deaths, more major-crash investigations, and more pressure to slow vehicles down on the roads Colorado Springs already knows are its most dangerous. (coloradosprings.gov, coloradosprings.gov, gazette.com)