What was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of Fred Gallegos’ life quickly turned into the most crushing.
The man was preparing for the adoption of his two youngest children last November when he found out his mother had been struck and killed while crossing the street in Pueblo on her way home.
“All it takes is a second and you could ruin someone’s life,” Gallegos said in a video interview provided by the Colorado Department of Transporation.
Gallegos said the hardest part of his mother’s death is trying to break old habits and help his daughter understand.
“I called my mom every morning on my way into work, I called her on my way home. I still find myself calling her to this day,” he said. “My little girl always asks me, ‘Where’s my grandma, when’s grandma coming, can’t we call grandma?’ It’s just been very devastating.”
In 2023, a record-setting 136 people were killed by drivers while walking or crossing the street in Colorado — a statistic that has shot up 77% since 2018 and more than 160% in the last 10 years, according to CDOT.
“There is a national trend of roadway traffic fatalities increasing. Are people just being more careless? I don’t know. But a lot of this has to do with the variety of roadway users out there,” CDOT spokesman Sam Cole said in January. “We see more people walking, biking, and riding e-bikes and scooters. This has a lot to do with the deaths on roads. That’s where the spikes have been the largest — with those vulnerable roadway users. ”
According to CDOT, 58% of those 136 pedestrian deaths last year happened in the fall and winter, with December being the deadliest month of 2023.
Despite a decline in pedestrian fatalities in the first nine months of 2024 — 72 deaths compared to 96 during the same period in 2023 — the numbers remain alarmingly high, CDOT officials stated in a news release.
“The persistent rise in fatalities calls for immediate and sustained action from all drivers and pedestrians in Colorado,” CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said in the release. “It’s up to all of us to make choices that protect our most vulnerable road users and create an environment where no one has to fear for their life simply because they need to cross the street.”
Dana Waldbaum was on her way to the gym one morning in Denver when an impaired driver hit her going over 70 mph.
“I needed 24-hour care,” Waldbaum said. “… We never think that something like this is going to happen to us — getting hit by a car seems as likely as getting struck by lightning. But it did happen to me, and it has affected me for the rest of my life. It’s affected everyone who knows me.”
Pedestrian deaths have nearly doubled nationwide over the past two decades, according to CDOT officials. In Colorado specifically, pedestrians now account for 19% of all traffic fatalities, up from 10% in 2002.
However, the number of crashes where the pedestrian was found at fault has also doubled in recent years, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
“We expect our motorists to share the road; however, it is equally important for bicyclists, joggers, dog walkers and kids to be predictable pedestrians,” state patrol chief Col. Matthew C. Packard said in a statement. “It’s easy to blame drivers, but they are not always responsible for these crashes. Pedestrians can reduce the chance of a preventable tragedy by following traffic rules designed for everyone’s safety.”
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