SOUTHERN COLORADO – According to the Colorado State Patrol, nine people have been killed in traffic crashes since Christmas Eve which brings this year’s death toll to 600.
On Thursday, Colonel Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, posted a video calling this an epidemic that has to stop right now. The responsibility, he said, lying in not only his hands, but all residents of Colorado.
Colonel Packard said, “As 2018 comes to a close I’ve just learned that we’ve lost our 600th life on Colorado’s roadways.”
Let that statistic sink for just a moment: 600 lives lost this year in traffic fatalities with close to a dozen people dying just this week.
“Nine people dead in the last 72 hours. Nine people in 72 hours. That’s nine brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. Nine human beings that aren’t here anymore.”
Two people died on Christmas Eve on Interstate 70 near Genesee.
Two wrecks happened on Wednesday: the first in Eagle County along I-70 and the second on Highway 160-two more people dead.
On Thursday a pedestrian was hit and killed along Highway 50. East of Monument there was a double fatal crash. In Weld County there was a semi versus car crash that took one person’s life. A wreck in La Plata County resulted in another death.
Colonel Packard said, “They have occurred in every corner on highways throughout this state. Day, night, lunchtime, breakfast time, or the middle of the night.”
It’s happening to people of all ages.
“It’s been men. It’s been women. It’s been young. It’s been old.”
While Colonel Packard said the investigation into all of these incidents is still early, here’s what Colorado State Patrol knows so far: “Selfish driving caused each one of these crashes. Inattentive, impairment, just not paying attention, making bad passes, driving carelessly.”
The common component, he said, is that each one of these tragedies could’ve been prevented.
“Step up, be better. Let’s save lives in Colorado.”
