Ouray County — A Colorado State Trooper died while off duty today when his motorcycle struck a deer about a mile north of Ridgway.
Mark Dold, 49, of Durango was northbound on Colorado Highway 550 when a herd of deer entered the roadway in front of him. He attempted to avoid the deer, but lost control of his Honda motorcycle when it struck one of them, Master Trooper Ron Watkins said.
Dold was ejected from the motorcycle and his body slammed into a large fencepost causing instant fatal injuries, Watkins said. He was wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dold is the second state trooper to die as a traffic fatality in the past week.
Trooper Zachariah Templeton, 27, died after he and another trooper were struck by a truck while standing on the Interstate 76 median in the Brighton area on Thursday. Funeral arrangements were still pending Sunday for Templeton, Watkins said.
Trooper Dold is survived by his parents, wife, two sons and a daughter, Watkins said.
