The person who died Monday afternoon after losing control of an e-bike that veered into a ditch off Castle Creek Road has been identified.
The Pitkin County Coroner’s Office issued a news release on Wednesday morning saying an autopsy is pending for Michele Mulrooney Jackoway, 64, of Beverly Hills, California. She was a part-time Pitkin County resident, the release says.
The release adds that the accident occurred at mile-marker 6 of Castle Creek Road.
“The cause/manner of death is pending autopsy,” Chief Deputy Coroner Audra Thompson’s release states.
On Tuesday, reports with details about the single-cycle crash were incomplete, according to Parker Lathrop, chief deputy of operations and public information for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
At the time, Dr. Steve Ayers, Pitkin County coroner, said an autopsy result and toxicology report were pending. Ayers said in a text message Tuesday that attempts were being made to contact relatives of the deceased. The accident victim’s name was not officially released on Tuesday.
Lathrop said it appeared the biker was riding with a group and headed downhill, or toward Aspen. The reports did not show what type of bicycle (road or electric, for example) the person was riding, whether the rider was wearing a helmet and if speed or other factors played into the crash, Lathrop said. Wednesday’s release from the coroner’s office said the cyclist had an electric bike.
The person was with a group of other riders at the time of the crash. “It sounds like they went off the road and impacted the ditch and that’s as much information as we have at this time,” Lathrop said Tuesday.
Castle Creek Road, a winding mountain thoroughfare, is a popular route for group and solo bike rides to and from the ghost town of Ashcroft. Monday was warm and dry in the Aspen area.
Pitkin County alert notifications were sent at 2:54 p.m. and 5:29 p.m. Monday to let people know about the road’s respective closure and reopening due to the accident.