20-Year-Old Killed In Cheshire Crash ‘Touched The Lives Of So Many’

CHESHIRE, CT — The victim of Saturday’s fatal motorcycle crash in Cheshire has been identified as 20-year-old Aidan Collins of Bristol, police said in an update on Thursday.

Collins was a 2024 graduate of Bristol Eastern High School, where he played lacrosse and soccer and was on the swim team. After high school, he attended Porter & Chester to "learn the electrical trade," according to his obituary.

“Aidan was apprenticing for Elite Electric and O’Connor Electric and was a parishioner of St. Matthew Church,” the obituary reads. “He enjoyed the outdoors and stayed active lifting, skiing, and coaching. He taught swimming lessons, was a lifeguard, manager, and coach at the Dennis Malone Aquatics Center’s pool.”

Collins was described in his obituary as “incredibly fearless and was always down for a new adventure.”

“He touched the lives of so many via the role of coaching private swim lessons and simply his overall presence,” according to the obituary. “There was never anything he put his mind to or dreamed of doing that he could not achieve.”

Police responded around 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 19 to the area of Mountain Road near Sorghum Mill Drive on the report of a one-vehicle motorcycle crash.

Officers reported that the motorcyclist had died from injuries sustained in the crash and was pronounced dead by Trinity Ambulance personnel, according to police.

Mountain Road was closed to traffic from Sorghum Mill Drive to Higgins Road while the Cheshire Traffic Division and members of the Naugatuck Valley Collision Investigation Team investigated the crash.

Police said the preliminary investigation indicates that as the motorcycle was traveling south on Mountain Road, the operator lost control and “left the roadway to the west.”

Collins was ejected from the motorcycle and struck a utility pole, according to police.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Kevin Zaksewicz at 203-271-5541.