AURORA | The number of Aurora fatal car crashes spiked for a couple of years after the pandemic, and although it hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, numbers have been consistently declining, police reported this week.
“Fatalities have increased over the last 10 years,” Carlie Campuzano, deputy director of transportation and mobility, said. “The bigger increase really kind of started in 2020, and then coming out of the pandemic.”
During a City Council study session Monday, Campuzano presented city council with a transportation safety update, showing that fatal crashes in Aurora spiked in 2022 and 2023, outpacing statewide increases. However, 2024 and 2025 saw a modest decline, although the city remains above its pre-pandemic levels.
Campuzano said a significant share of Aurora’s elevated fatal crash levels might have been because of fatalities that occurred on interstates.
A graph of fatalities over the years showed that there were 31 fatalities in 2019, 50 in 2022, 61 in 2023, 51 in 2024, and 41 traffic fatalities in Aurora by the end of August 2025.
Half of car-crash fatalities in 2024 involved drivers not wearing seatbelts, according to city data.
“Speeding accounts for 30% to 40% of fatal crashes, and impaired driving is a factor in at least a third,” Campuzano said, talking about statewide data.
In Aurora, speeding made up 53% of fatalities in 2024.
Men under the age of 44 made up 75% of fatalities in Aurora in 2024, pedestrians made up 34% and motorcyclists also faced heightened risk at 24% of fatalities in 2024. DUIs have also increased, according to Campuzano, making up 31% of fatalities in Aurora in 2024.
“We’re seeing no seat belt and helmet use accounting for about a third, and then DUIs and impairment or about a third,” Campuzano said.
Distracted driving has also increased, but Campuzano said it was hard to measure how much.
When it comes to traffic safety, the different departments work together using what they call the “Three Es,” which are education, engineering and enforcement, Campuzano said.
“Think of these strategies as kind of like legs of a stool, if any one leg isn’t in place, you won’t have the optimum transportation safety,” Campuzano said. “So this was a concept developed a long time ago to try to explain the nuance and complexity of this topic and the relationship of these different items.”
The engineering aspect involves modifying the built environment, which is what the Public Works Department examines, Campuzano said. The enforcement side involves issuing citations or warnings for violations to encourage compliance with the law, while the education side provides information that increases driver awareness and motivates people to change their behavior, Campuzano said.
Some of the incidents occur simultaneously, which is why they don’t add up to 100%, Campuzano said, giving an example of a motorcycle driver who might also be impaired.
Engineering
Public Works is pursuing what Campuzano described as “proven safety countermeasures,” including roundabouts and signal changes. The city is developing a Safety Action Plan in partnership with Adams County, which is expected to be ready in the spring. The plan will identify crash hotspots and prioritize projects, according to Campuzano.
“We do a very detailed review of the crash data, and we really rely heavily on what we call proven safety countermeasures,” Campuzano said.
Some improvements can be deployed quickly, she said, such as restriping, adjusting signal timing or adding stop signs near schools.
Larger projects, like roundabouts, remain costly and may face delays amid recent budget constraints, Campuzano said. She later added that traffic calming budgets are expected to increase in 2026, allowing staff to prioritize projects and move some designs forward while awaiting the availability of construction dollars.
Enforcement
Commander Matt Brukbacher, police department special operations, said traffic enforcement has intensified, with 11,250 traffic summonses issued and 18,700 traffic stops made in 2025.
“Through enforcement, our primary traffic enforcement group is our traffic section,” Brukbacher said. “However, it has been made very clear that all members of the Aurora Police Department’s mission is traffic safety, and with that, we have seen an increase in ticket generation and strict enforcement, specifically in problem areas.”
He stated that there are eight specialized motorcycle officers, with two patrolling interstates, while weekend operations target street racing through the Secure our Streets initiative, established in 2024.
The Special Operations Bureau, which oversees specialized units and task forces, including SWAT, has issued 6,587 summonses year to date, Brukbacher said, and in the last eight weeks, ticket issuance has increased by 32%.
“Strict enforcement is definitely ongoing,” he said.
The police department is also working on messaging to ask people to slow down and pay attention.
“Some of the messaging we put out is trying to get people to slow down, pay attention to driving, put the phone down and engage in the act of driving solely,” Brukbacher said.
The city is also preparing to launch its first automated speed enforcement cameras.
Beginning in October, drivers caught going more than 11 miles per hour over the limit in residential areas, school zones, and work zones will receive warnings through the camera enforcement. By November, individuals will receive $40 citations, or $80 in school zones.
Severe violations, exceeding the limit by more than 25 mph, will still require officers to issue tickets.
Education
Aurora partnered with the National Transportation Safety Board for a traffic safety summit earlier this year and is working with CDOT and the Denver Regional Council of Governments on outreach campaigns, Campuzano said.
The city is developing the Aurora Safe Streets Action Plan, which will combine technology upgrades, police crackdowns and expanded community presentations, Campuzano said. City officials also plan to attend ward meetings to gather feedback and keep residents engaged.
Pedestrians made up 34 % of traffic fatalities in Aurora—that is a lot. It would be helpful to see where those crashes occur and do everything to make those places safer for walkers.
Of course, it could be nighttime drunken jaywalkers causing the crashes and in that case there really is nothing the city can do.
While automotive related fatalities may be down, the number of idiots behind the wheel is well on the rise with no end in sight. We need more direct police enforcement to address Aurora’s driver issues. Since the state will issue a drivers license to anything that can breath oxygen, we need direct involvement to address this issue. Traffic cameras are not the answer, and will not solve the problem. If people don’t want to interact with the police, then perhaps they shouldn’t break the law. What a concept!!