Warren Lemmons at 19 was ready to start a new chapter of his life.

He was preparing to sell his motorcycle, move from Colorado Springs to Denver, while transferring jobs and leasing an apartment with a close friend. 

Lemmons’ bright future was shattered in seconds on Sept. 25, 2024, on a road he drove nearly every day. He was wrapping up his last motorcycle ride, only two minutes from home, when he lost control of the bike and was flung into a signpost.

His neck snapped on impact with the post, causing extreme brain trauma, his family told The Gazette. He was declared brain-dead by doctors even though his body otherwise suffered very little injury. 

“He had his whole life in front of him, and God had other plans for him,” said Jim Conway, the grandfather who raised him. “Man, we miss him. We miss him a lot.” 

Lemmons was one of the youngest victims of Colorado Springs’ 49 traffic fatalities in 2024.

Of those fatalities, 17 were motorcyclists and 17 were driving automobiles. Fourteen pedestrians were killed in 2024, one of whom was a juvenile. Only one passenger not behind the wheel died in a traffic collision, according to Police Department spokeswoman Caitlin Ford. 

Traffic deaths in the city continued to decrease in 2024, from a record high of 56 in 2022. The decline started in 2023, coming down 50 traffic related deaths. 

Despite the decline, Sgt. Eric Anderson with Police Department’s major crash team says the ratio of crashes to fatalities and serious injuries has been slowly increasing. 

Speeding is “far and away” the most common cause for traffic fatalities in Colorado Springs, police say. 

“Excessive speed, especially when it comes to motorcycles, is a huge problem in our city and is absolutely the cause of most fatal crashes,” Ford said in an email.  

Police are still unable to say if speed was a factor in Lemmons’ death. Based on the initial findings from investigators, Ford said the wreck appeared to be an accident that involved no other vehicles. 

Lemmons, she said, was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Conway told The Gazette that Lemmons rarely sped, but he was always worried about his grandson’s safety, considering how many motorcyclists die each year in Colorado Springs. 

“Before he got the bike, we knew how many people were dying every summer because on the radio, they kept repeating it,” Conway said. “But he was always careful, he always abided by the rules on the road. He did all the things he was supposed to do.” 

Colorado Springs fatalities

The most common charges in fatal crashes in Colorado Springs are careless driving resulting in death, hit and run resulting in death, and vehicular homicide. Four fatal hit and runs were reported in 2024.

Anderson attributes one causal factor to the city being a “melting pot,” with drivers from all over the country moving to the state and Colorado Springs, arriving with different styles of driving. More predominantly, Anderson believes people are just in more of a hurry to get from one place to the next, causing them to think less about other drivers.  

The city’s population has expanded exponentially in recent years, and is inching closer to the 500,000 mark in 2025 — a change that’s affected both drivers and traffic on highways and city streets. Commutes that once took 15 minutes may log closer to a half-hour, due to the congestion on the roads, Anderson said. 

He said those longer drives can translate to anger and frustration on the road, influencing driving manners. 

“So now you’re talking longer travel times, more cars on the road, less patience on the road and maybe some impairment to go along with it, whether it’s alcohol or drugs,” Anderson said. “You combine all of that together, and it creates almost that perfect storm.” 

Police say of the 49 fatalities reported, 20 involved impaired drivers, with eight toxicology reports still pending as of Jan. 18.

Colorado Springs police and Colorado State Patrol refer to the period between Memorial Day and Labor the “Hundred Deadliest Days” because they claim the highest number of traffic fatalities.  The agencies launch initiatives during these months focused on getting impaired drivers off the road.   

Fatalities statewide

In 2024, Colorado saw the lowest number of traffic fatalities in years with 678 reported, the lowest since 622 in 2020.  

In the years following the pandemic, traffic-related deaths were rising, only starting to fall in 2023 and 2024, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. 

In 2021, 691 fatalities were reported. In 2022, 764 people died, the highest number of fatalities the state has seen since at least 2015.  

CDOT reported the number dropped down to 720 in 2023, and continued decreasing into 2024.

Traffic fatalities with an impairment factor have followed the same pattern starting with 2020. Once again, 2022 takes the top spot for the past four years with 286 impairment-related deaths for the year. The next two years saw significant decreases, with 2023 coming down to 227, further decreasing in 2024 to 203. 

Colorado State Patrol posted on social media Jan. 2 that, in 2024, speeding was the second-most-common causal factor in injury and fatal crashes in Colorado.  

Operator impairment was the “No. 1 factor” in traffic collisions and fatalities in Colorado. 

According to the CDOT 2023 problem identification report, additional top factors include non-use of restraints like a seat belt and distracted driving. 

Samuel Cole with CDOT’s safety programs said the same causal factors continue to ring true year after year.  

State Patrol has previously said that troopers arrested over 4,100 motorists for DUI in 2023. Overall, in Colorado, one-third of traffic fatalities involve a driver who is impaired, the agency has said.  

In September, an allegedly impaired driver on U.S. 6 in Mesa County struck and killed two CDOT workers, additionally killing a passenger in the driver’s vehicle.

Patrick James Sneddon, 59, is facing numerous charges after being arrested Dec. 18, including vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. He is also facing charges for weaving between lanes, and violating a law that requires drivers to “move over” and give a wide berth to stationary public service vehicles. 

“Everyone has become so desensitized to a traffic crash that the fact that somebody passed away in that crash doesn’t necessarily hit home as hard,” Anderson said. “I’ve seen people literally just destroyed over this because of the loss of a loved one, and I don’t think people get it.” 

Cost of a life

Fatal traffic crashes have lasting impacts on both families and friends. 

Conway, who raised Lemmons and his two siblings since their parents separated 17 years ago, spoke warmly of his grandson and the bright future he had waiting for him.

Lemmons’ sympathetic and caring nature had a profound effect on those surrounding him even after he died, Conway said. Nearly 80 friends visited him in the hospital every day for the four days he was on life support after doctors confirmed he was brain dead.  Almost all of them came to the donor walk at midnight the following Saturday, Conway said in early January, with pride still in his voice.    

Lemmons was an organ donor, and, as such, helped save lives across the country. Conway has talked with some of the recipients, one being a man in Texas who got Lemmons’ heart and one of his kidneys.  

“Warren was always about serving others, and so it’s fitting that the last thing he did was help as many people as he did,” Conway said.