Four motorcycle accidents on Colorado roadways over the weekend left three dead and several injured, authorities said.
A 52-year-old Colorado Springs woman was put on life support after the motorcycle she was driving collided head-on about 1:45 p.m. Sunday with another motorcycle on South Turkey Creek Road in Jefferson County, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Just after noon Sunday, an accident involving several motorcycles traveling west on U.S. 36 near Lyons left one woman dead and another rider seriously injured, the State Patrol reported.
Early Sunday morning, a motorcyclist was found dead in the 21000 block of East Sixth Avenue, Aurora police said.
And a Grand Junction man died late Saturday when a car pulled onto Interstate 70 in front of the motorcycle he was riding about 5 miles east of that city, resulting in a collision, according to the State Patrol.
On South Turkey Creek Road, Patricia Loftus’ 1989 Harley-Davidson collided with a 2005 Kawasaki driven by Richard Kirkpatrick, 24, of Aurora, the patrol said.
Both riders were taken to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, where Loftus was on life support Sunday evening. Kirkpatrick received minor injuries. He was wearing a helmet; she was not, the patrol said.
The fatal crash between Lyons and Estes Park on U.S. 36 occurred when a motorcycle driven by Albert Alcorn, 54, of Littleton sideswiped an eastbound motor home and went down. Alcorn sustained minor injuries.
A second motorcycle, driven by Jody Evers, 45, of Thornton swerved to miss Alcorn, ejecting Evers and a female passenger, whose name wasn’t released. The passenger was thrown into oncoming traffic and hit by a Toyota SUV. She was dead at the scene. Evers was taken to Longmont United Hospital with severe injuries.
A third motorcycle also went down. Its driver and passenger sustained minor injuries, according to the State Patrol. Troopers said Sunday they did not suspect drugs or alcohol as a factor. None of the riders was wearing a helmet. Alcorn has been charged with careless driving causing death, said the patrol.
In Aurora, police were notified just after 6 a.m. Sunday of an accident on East Sixth, and they found the body of Ricky Ray Selanders, 38, and his red 2004 Kawasaki ZR 1000 motorcycle.
It appears Selanders was westbound at a high rate of speed when he left the roadway, police said. A helmet was found at the scene, but it wasn’t clear that Selanders was wearing it at the time of the crash, police said.
Near Grand Junction, Charles Byron Shilling, 39, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a Geo Prism that pulled onto I-70 into his path. The motorcycle hit the front left of the Prism, driven by Jennifer Smith, 18, also of Grand Junction, the patrol said. Shilling was ejected over the hood of the car and onto the roadway.
Shilling was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at St. Mary’s Hospital, and Smith was held at the hospital overnight for observation, the patrol said.
Alcohol, drugs or speed are not suspected as factors in the accident, the patrol said.
Staff writer Marsha Austin contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
