Interstate 70 fatal crashes in Colorado

FARS records 313 fatal crashes with 352 deaths on Interstate 70 in Colorado from 2015 to 2024.

In 2024 it records 30 fatal crashes with 35 deaths on the route.

By fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024, Interstate 70 was number 2 of the 40 routes of Colorado with a page.

Fatal crashes on Interstate 70 rose by 2.6% between the ten years 2005 to 2014 (305) and the ten years 2015 to 2024 (313).

In Colorado they rose by 31.0% between the same years.

From 2015 to 2024, motorcyclists were 12.2% of the deaths on Interstate 70 and 19.4% in Colorado.

To qualify as a FARS case, the crash had to involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and must have resulted in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash.
The set of first files, known as the Annual Report File (ARF), is released following the crash year. The ARF is replaced about a year later with a final file, which contains additional cases or updates to cases that had become available after the ARF was released.
NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

This page rests on the FARS 2024 annual file. NHTSA released it on 1 Apr 2026. NHTSA can revise the counts in the final file. Release dates

Figure 1.Fatal crashes on Interstate 70 in Colorado by year, 2015 to 2024

Table 1 has the numbers. Go to the table

Since the last update: no figure of this route has a change on record.

Fatal crashes by year

Table 1.Interstate 70 in Colorado: fatal crashes and deaths by year, 2000 to 2024
Year	Fatal crashes	Deaths
2024	30	35
2023	33	36
2022	40	44
2021	40	43
2020	28	29
2019	22	26
2018	29	34
2017	35	42
2016	23	28
2015	33	35
2014	23	26
2013	42	52
2012	29	35
2011	28	30
2010	21	26
2009	28	30
2008	32	39
2007	36	42
2006	33	37
2005	33	35
2004	30	32
2003	35	39
2002	50	58
2001	54	59
2000	40	45

Note: the route is the trafficway that FARS records for the crash. The records of routes start in 2000. A count of 1 or 2 is written "1 or 2".

Counties on the route

Table 2.Interstate 70: fatal crashes on the route in each county, 2015 to 2024, in name order
County	On the route	On all roads of the county
Adams County	27	591
Arapahoe County	34	464
Clear Creek County	14	31
Denver County	40	581
Eagle County	29	45
Elbert County	15	35
Garfield County	42	87
Jefferson County	35	450
Kit Carson County	18	34
Lincoln County	15	36
Mesa County	30	174
Pueblo County	1 or 2	266
Summit County	13	37

Note: the table has the counties where FARS records a fatal crash on the route in these years.

Factors that NHTSA records

Table 3.Interstate 70 in Colorado: counts by recorded factor, 2015 to 2024
Factor	Count	Counted among	Share	Share on all roads of Colorado
A driver recorded as drinkingof 313 fatal crashes	91	313 fatal crashes	29.1%	34.1%
A speeding-related driverof 313 fatal crashes	95	313 fatal crashes	30.4%	35.4%
Pedestriansof 352 deaths	30	352 deaths	8.5%	14.1%
Motorcyclistsof 352 deaths	43	352 deaths	12.2%	19.4%

Note: FARS records a driver as drinking when police reported alcohol involvement or a test of the driver was positive for alcohol. It is not NHTSA's alcohol-impaired measure. One crash can be in two rows. NHTSA's definitions

Note that alcohol data is often missing. For that reason, this data element may under-count the actual number of drinking drivers.

NHTSA's words. Source: NHTSA, Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794, April 2026), copied on 2 Oct 2026.

Time of day

Table 4.Interstate 70 in Colorado: fatal crashes by time of day, 2015 to 2024
Time of day	Fatal crashes	Share	Share on all roads of Colorado
Midnight to 6 a.m.	75	24.0%	17.6%
6 a.m. to noon	73	23.3%	19.4%
Noon to 6 p.m.	83	26.5%	31.1%
6 p.m. to midnight	82	26.2%	31.9%

Note: the table has the fatal crashes with a known hour.

Mile ranges

Table 5.Interstate 70 in Colorado: fatal crashes by range of five miles, 2015 to 2024
Milepoint	Fatal crashes
Mile 255 to 260	9
Mile 265 to 270	10
Mile 270 to 275	14
Mile 275 to 280	14
Mile 280 to 285	23
Mile 285 to 290	13

Note: the table has the six ranges of five miles with the largest counts, in the order of the milepoint. 100 percent of the fatal crashes on the route have a milepoint in FARS. A state can start its milepoints again at a county line.

Routes in the same counties

These routes of Colorado have a fatal crash on record in one or more of the same counties. The list is for navigation. The number is the fatal crashes on the route from 2015 to 2024.

All routes in Colorado

Official channels

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST)NHTSA's query tool for FARS counts.
NHTSA FARS EncyclopediaNHTSA's tables of FARS data.
Colorado Office of Transportation SafetyThe highway safety office of Colorado.

These links go to the sites of the agencies. They were checked on 2 Oct 2026.

Cite this page

Fatal Roads. Interstate 70 fatal crashes in Colorado. https://fatalroads.com/route/co/i-70/. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, FARS 2024 annual file. Data to 31 Dec 2024.

The address of this page does not change.

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Source of the figures

Counts: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System, national files of 2000 to 2024. A route page is built for a signed Interstate, US or state route with 20 or more fatal crashes in a state in ten years. Data to 31 Dec 2024. The figures are totals. No page of this site is about one crash or one person.

How the figures are made. Data sources and licences. Corrections.

Questions

How many fatal crashes did FARS record on Interstate 70 in the ten years before 2015?

FARS records 305 fatal crashes on Interstate 70 in Colorado from 2005 to 2014. It records 313 from 2015 to 2024.

What part of the fatal crashes in Colorado was on Interstate 70?

313 of the 6,017 fatal crashes in Colorado from 2015 to 2024 were on Interstate 70. That is 5.2 percent.

How many fatal crashes on Interstate 70 had a driver recorded as drinking?

FARS records a driver as drinking in 91 of 313 fatal crashes from 2015 to 2024. It records a speeding-related driver in 95 of them.

Does this page count the same route number in a different state?

No. This page counts the fatal crashes that FARS records on Interstate 70 in Colorado only. The route in a different state has its own page.