Fatal crash rate · Colorado · Road
Fatal crashes on US-85 in Colorado
Every fatal crash NHTSA coded to US Route 85, also written as S Santa Fe Dr, in Colorado, 2020 to 2024, with the year, the county and what the record says about each. Fatal crashes only, and a count, not a rate: the federal record has no traffic volume for a road.
US-85 in Colorado2020 to 2024 · fatal crashes recorded by NHTSA
73fatal crashes over five years · 84 deaths
Over 2020 to 2024, NHTSA recorded 73 fatal crashes on US-85 in Colorado, in which 84 people died. That is 2% of the 3,219 fatal crashes recorded in Colorado in those years, about 15 a year. 1 of the 73 were coded to a ramp, frontage or service road of US-85 rather than the main lanes. In 2024, the latest year, 23 were recorded.
- Counted
- FARS crashes 2020 to 2024 in Colorado whose TWAY_ID or TWAY_ID2 begins US-85, with or without a local name (S Santa Fe Dr)
- Share
- 73 ÷ 3,219 fatal crashes in Colorado = 2%
Every year, 2020 to 2024
| Year | Fatal crashes on US-85 | Deaths | Fatal crashes in Colorado | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 14 | 17 | 574 | 2% |
| 2021 | 11 | 14 | 638 | 2% |
| 2022 | 11 | 16 | 699 | 2% |
| 2023 | 14 | 14 | 666 | 2% |
| 2024 | 23 | 23 | 642 | 4% |
2024 is NHTSA’s Annual Report File and will be revised when the final file replaces it.
Where on US-85: by county, 2020 to 2024
The counties the crashes were coded to, alphabetical. A road’s count in a county depends on how many miles of it run there and how busy they are; the page does not rank the counties. Each name opens the county page with its own rate.
What the record says about those crashes, 2020 to 2024
Every figure is a count of the 73 fatal crashes NHTSA coded to US-85 in Colorado over five years, from the fields FARS records. Nothing is estimated or inferred.
| Road type | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 1 | 1% |
| Other freeway or expressway | 30 | 41% |
| Other principal arterial | 39 | 53% |
| Minor arterial | 3 | 4% |
| Major collector | 0 | 0% |
| Minor collector | 0 | 0% |
| Local road | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown or not reported | 0 | 0% |
| Rural | 33 | 45% |
| Urban | 40 | 55% |
| Time of day | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight to 5:59 am | 21 | 29% |
| 6 am to 11:59 am | 12 | 16% |
| Noon to 5:59 pm | 22 | 30% |
| 6 pm to 11:59 pm | 18 | 25% |
| Hour unknown | 0 | 0% |
| Light | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Daylight | 30 | 41% |
| Dark, not lighted (or lighting unknown) | 23 | 32% |
| Dark, lighted | 16 | 22% |
| Dawn or dusk | 4 | 5% |
| Unknown or not reported | 0 | 0% |
| Day of week | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 18 | 25% |
| Monday | 6 | 8% |
| Tuesday | 9 | 12% |
| Wednesday | 7 | 10% |
| Thursday | 4 | 5% |
| Friday | 12 | 16% |
| Saturday | 17 | 23% |
| Month | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6 | 8% |
| February | 10 | 14% |
| March | 3 | 4% |
| April | 6 | 8% |
| May | 6 | 8% |
| June | 8 | 11% |
| July | 9 | 12% |
| August | 2 | 3% |
| September | 11 | 15% |
| October | 6 | 8% |
| November | 6 | 8% |
| December | 0 | 0% |
| Weather | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | 50 | 68% |
| Cloudy | 2 | 3% |
| Rain | 1 | 1% |
| Snow, sleet or freezing rain | 5 | 7% |
| Fog, smog or smoke | 0 | 0% |
| Severe wind, blowing sand or other | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown or not reported | 14 | 19% |
| Involving | Crashes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| A pedestrian | 8 | 11% |
| A bicyclist or other cyclist | 1 | 1% |
| A speeding-related vehicle | 23 | 32% |
| A driver police reported as drinking | 21 | 29% |
| A large truck (over 10,000 lb) | 14 | 19% |
| A motorcycle | 11 | 15% |
| A hit-and-run vehicle | 4 | 5% |
| A teen driver (15 to 19) | 11 | 15% |
Road type is FARS FUNC_SYS for the crash, which can differ from the route’s class where a crash was coded on a frontage road or ramp; speeding is any vehicle coded SPEEDREL 2 to 5; drinking is any driver coded DRINKING = 1 (police-reported, not a blood-alcohol test).
How this is counted
- The road is the designation FARS wrote. Each crash in NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System names the trafficway it was on (
TWAY_ID) and, at an intersection, a second one (TWAY_ID2). NHTSA standardises the route designation (I-45,US-59,SR-6) and the police often add a local name after it (I-45/NORTH FWY) or a ramp or frontage word. The page counts every crash whose designation is US-85, once, whatever followed it. Nothing else is matched: a crash coded only to a local street name is not here even if that street is this road. - Same number, another state, another road. US-85 in Colorado is counted within Colorado only. Where the route continues into a neighbouring state it has its own page there, and a State Route number means nothing outside its state.
- Only roads with ten or more fatal crashes over 2020 to 2024 have a page. Fewer is too few to say anything, and the county page already lists the most-named roads in each county as the police wrote them.
- No rate, no rank. The Colorado page lists every numbered road in route order with its count and nothing else. Roads with more lanes, more miles or more traffic record more fatal crashes; the record cannot separate those from the road’s design.
Informational only, not professional advice. Last reviewed: October 2026. Data snapshot built 2026-10-30.
Other roads in Colorado
- I-25 229
- I-70 185
- I-76 61
- I-225 22
- I-270 11
- SR-2 17
- SR-7 10
- SR-9 14
- SR-14 26
- SR-21 17
- SR-30 25
- SR-45 13
- SR-52 11
- SR-65 11
- SR-66 10
- SR-69 11
- SR-71 20
- SR-72 10
- SR-82 12
- SR-83 43
- SR-88 23
- SR-94 11
- SR-95 29
- SR-96 17
- SR-115 21
- SR-119 27
- SR-121 27
- SR-141 18
- SR-145 12
- SR-391 20
In route order, first thirty; the full list is on the Colorado page.