On Saturday, June 3, 2023, at 7:17 p.m., members of the Colorado Springs Police Department, Stetson Hills Division, were dispatched to the area of Barnes Road and Charlotte Parkway regarding a single-vehicle motorcycle crash. Upon arrival, officers found the crash and the motorcycle rider in the roadway, who sustained life-threatening injuries. When members of CSFD and AMR arrived on the scene, the motorcycle rider was immediately transported to a local hospital.
Due to the nature of the crash, the Major Crash Team was contacted and responded to assume the investigation. The investigation revealed the motorcycle was traveling east on Barnes Road when the motorcycle struck the north curb and guardrail before being ejected from the motorcycle. While on the scene, officers and detectives were advised that the motorcycle rider had succumbed to his injuries.
On Monday, June 5, 2023, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy of the deceased motorcycle rider. The motorcycle rider has been identified as 33-year-old Colorado Springs resident, Luis Cruz. Currently, speed does not appear to be a factor in this crash. This is the 20th fatal traffic crash in Colorado Springs this year. At this same time last year, there were 16 fatal traffic crashes. In the past 365 days in Colorado Springs, there have been 60 fatal traffic crashes.