The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Incident occured on Highway 114
A 49-year-old Crested Butte South man was killed in a motorcycle accident on Saturday, September 13. Richard Spear was riding his 2007 Suzuki on Highway 114 in the Cochetopa Canyon at mile marker 13 south of Highway 50, in Saguache County.
According to the Colorado State Patrol accident report, Spears was westbound when he failed to negotiate a left curve. The motorcycle traveled 100 feet on the gravel shoulder and then went over an embankment, where it rolled several times before hitting a boulder.
Spear was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident but was ejected from the motorcycle.
People in a passing car saw the motorcycle lying along the side of the road turned around to evaluate the situation and discovered Spear. They flagged down a passing truck and used the driver’s phone to report the accident to authorities. Spear was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, 534 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in Colorado in 2006. Of those, 74 were motorcyclists.
A long-time resident of the Crested Butte area, Spear and his wife, Dana, built their home in Crested Butte South. A carpenter by trade, Spear attended Western State College.
