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Aspen man ID’d in Tuesday motorcycle crash on Highway 82 near Emma

Jason Auslander and David Krause
The Aspen Times
Alex Sills
Courtesy photo/Facebook

Alexander Sills has been identified by the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office as the 30-year-old Aspen man who died Tuesday morning after apparently losing control of his motorcycle on Highway 82.

Emergency dispatchers received a call at 1:17 a.m. about a motorcycle with the light on in the upvalley lanes just before the Emma Schoolhouse, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Chief Scott Thompson said Tuesday morning.

When a crew arrived, they found Sills near the bike path where he’d been thrown, Thompson said. Sills was pronounced dead at the scene, which was turned over to the Colorado State Patrol, Thompson said.



Sills, who lived in Old Snowmass, was heading east on Highway 82 in the left, upvalley lane and appeared to lose control when the road curves left near the Emma Schoolhouse, according to CSP Trooper Josh Lewis and Thompson.

Sills went off the right side of the road, hit the guardrail and was ejected from the motorcycle, Lewis said. His body was found in the bike path next to the highway, while the motorcycle remained in the road, Lewis said. 




Alcohol, drugs and speed are being investigated as factors in the crash, Lewis said. No other information was available Tuesday morning while the accident remained under investigation, he said. 

Pitkin County Deputy Coroner Michael Buglione identified Sills as the victim after his family had been notified Tuesday.

Sills was from Australia, according to his Facebook page, and was the owner of Sopris Window Cleaning and also worked at New York Pizza.

Sills started at the New York Pizza in Basalt soon after it opened in 2011 and moved to the Aspen shop about four or five years ago so he could ski more, restaurant co-owner Earl Rodgers said Tuesday while in the Aspen store.

“He was loved here. He was like a little brother to me,” Rodgers said. “He loved to ski, and he had a deep love of jam bands and festivals. And he also loved his motorcycles.”

Rodgers, who rode dirt bikes with Sills, said his friend was a hard worker, which led to Sills starting his own company last spring. He spent a few years washing windows for other companies and ventured out on his own in 2018.

“He was always very responsible and had a good attitude,” Rodgers said. “He always had a smile on his face and was the first person to step in and help or pick up a shift when we needed.”

No one involved could say whether Sills was wearing a helmet, though Buglione said a helmet was found at the crash scene. 

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