Chelsie Willing died on April 17, 2025, 10 days before her 21st birthday, when a car pulled out in front of her as she was riding her Yamaha R7 motorcycle on Platte Avenue in Colorado Springs. Motorcycling was her passion, and she was happiest when she was riding, said her aunt, Windy McKay.

McKay spoke of the impact of Chelsie’s death on her family and the motorcycling community in an interview with The Denver Gazette.

The aftermath of her death has been devastating to her family, including to McKay and Chelsie’s three siblings, sisters Aspen and Astoria and brother Talon. The family is very close. McKay cared for the family after their mother died. She noted how difficult it has been for Chelsie’s younger siblings to continue their lives without Chelsie, especially since they “graduated from high school after she died” and now must manage “without talking to her every day.”

Chelsie’s death was the third motorcycle death this year among her wide circle of motorcycling friends, McKay said. Since her death, three more of her friends have died in the same way.

She was well-liked in the local motorcycle community.

“People I’ve never even met before will walk up to me and tell me that, well, I knew Chelsea and I rode with her, or I met her at this place,” said McKay.

McKay said hundreds of people attended her memorial service on her birthday, April 27, 2025. After the service, McKay said there was a “gigantic motorcycle run” tribute to Chelsie.

Since her death, a remembrance memorial to her has sprung up near the crash site and continues to grow, with flowers, photos and memorabilia.

Chelsie Willing is one of more than 100 motorcyclist deaths on Colorado roads this year. The state has seen an enormous jump in motorcyclist deaths in the last three years.

Colorado State Patrol data shows 165 motorcyclist fatalities in 2024, the highest on record. This marks a 60% increase from the 103 in 2018, based on Fatal Analysis Reporting System data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which provides finalized statistics through 2023.

According to Colorado Department of Transportation records and news reports, an estimated 115 riders have died on Colorado roads in 2025.

Motorcycle deaths now account for 24% of all traffic fatalities in the state, though motorcycles comprise just 3% of registered vehicles. State patrol data shows 44% of those killed in 2024 were not wearing helmets.

Jerry Bowman, head of Bowman Law in Denver, has specialized in Colorado motorcycle laws for more than 13 years.

He attributes the rise to inattentive motorists and motorcyclists who don’t completely understand the law — mainly the difference between lane splitting (which is illegal in Colorado) and lane filtering, which has been on Colorado’s books for more than a year. (Editor’s note: Read this sidebar story on the difference between lane splitting and filtering)

“A lot of motorists, they just don’t appreciate the fact that there’s people driving anything other than vehicles and they’re just looking for vehicles,” Bowman said. “And so oftentimes they miss (seeing) pedestrians, they miss cyclists, they miss motorcyclists. I don’t want to try to shift the blame and the responsibility to the driver, but they also have responsibility.”

A recent Common Sense Institute report notes that while motorcycle fatalities jumped 60% from 2018 to 2024, passenger vehicle deaths decreased by 7%.

The report further indicates motorcycle registrations declined by 8.9% statewide, from 194,847 in 2018 to 177,511 in 2024, despite a 6.4% growth in the driving-age population.

“This divergence suggests an increase in unregistered motorcycles operating on Colorado roads,” the institute said. “If motorcycle registrations statewide had kept pace…there would’ve been an estimated 30,000 more registered motorcycles in the state in 2024.”

Federal Fatal Analysis Reporting System data for 2018-2023 reveals consistent patterns across high-risk categories.

Fatal crashes in Colorado alone totaled 745 over the period, with yearly counts rising from 103 in 2018 to a peak of 144 in 2022 before dipping to 133 in 2023 and rising to 165 deaths in 2024, according to data from the Colorado State Patrol.

Intersections were the top location, accounting for 20-25% of the national trend, followed by intersection-related locations and driveway access points. Urban areas dominated, with 58% of the fatalities. Road types showed principal arterials as the most dangerous, then minor arterials and interstates.

Clear weather prevailed 80% of the time, with clouds and rain far behind.

Age data highlights vulnerabilities among younger Colorado riders: 177 fatalities in the 20-29 group and 160 in the 30-39 group, for the 2018-2023 period. Older riders (50+) accounted for 35% of fatalities.

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Colorado was the 12th-highest state in the country in 2022 for the total number of motorcycle deaths.

One of the biggest ways to prevent fatal injuries among motorcyclists is to gear up properly, especially a helmet, as 44% of riders in a crash without one die.

“Wearing a helmet and riding within your limits are the best ways to prevent serious injury or death in a crash,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a news release. “It’s imperative to gear up and practice skills before riding in live traffic or taking a scenic drive. Motorists should also remember to look twice and give motorcyclists extra space. In a collision with a car, they will always be on the losing side.”

Chelsie Willing was wearing a helmet and proper gear, her aunt said. That included boots, pants, a chest protector, and, said McKay, the most expensive motorcycle helmet on the market at the time of the crash. Chelsie still died of “multiple blunt-force trauma.”

Bowman blamed distracted driving as one of the factors causing higher risk to motorcyclists.

“Motorists need to pay attention to their surroundings, instead of paying attention to their phones or the radio or putting on makeup or eating,” he said. “Just do your job of driving and you should be able to see these things.”

Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni and Gazette reporter Abbey Soukup contributed to this article.