By Allen Cowgill
Two people on bicycles were recently killed by motorists in North Denver. Both crashes happened on Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) roads that continue to be the deadliest in this part of town. The recent deaths were two of the 82 people that were killed in crashes in Denver in 2022.
The number of deaths is close to 2021’s recent record of 84 deaths. Both Federal and Sheridan boulevards are on Denver’s High Injury Network, or the 5% of streets that account for 50% of fatal crashes. Based on previous reporting in The Denver North Star, advocacy groups like the Denver Streets Partnership have said both of these CDOT roads are dangerous by design because they are designed for speed and traffic volume instead of safety.
The 35 mph speed limit may have also played a role in both crashes as according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the fatality rate for pedestrians and people on bikes more than double when the speed of a car increases from 25 mph to 35 mph.
On Dec. 9, 34-year-old Logan Rocklin was crossing Sheridan Boulevard going from his home in Wheat Ridge into Denver for dinner on W. 38th Avenue when a driver going Northbound ran a red light and fatally struck him, according to the Denver Police Department. The driver fled the scene and remains at large as of our print deadline.
Rockin’s sister, Andy Morris, remembers Rocklin as “a really bright and vibrant person.” “He was often the light and humor in a room,” Morris said. “He and his wife are and were very social and have a lot of friends. He was an amazing musician, a pianist, guitar player, drummer and singer. He was in a band for a while, but also an accountant, that is what his day job was.”
Read the full story at The Denver North Star