This past year was the deadliest in history for people walking or biking along Colorado roads.
“Getting hit by a car seems about as likely as getting struck by lightning,” says Dana Walbaum, survivor of a Denver car-vs.-pedestrian incident. “We never think that something like this is going to happen as a pedestrian … but it did happen to me and it’s affected me for the rest of my life.”
October is Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month in Colorado. Walbaum shared her story with CDOT to raise awareness about the human fallout from a devastating statistic: 2023 set a record for pedestrian deaths with 136 statewide, up 161% in a decade.
Fred Gallegos lost his mother to a distracted driver in Pueblo.
“It’s just been devastating. It’s just been crushing,” Gallegos says. “Trying to break old habits. I call my mom every morning on my way into work. I still find myself calling her to this day.”
The Denver Metro area and large cities like Colorado Springs suffer the majority of pedestrian fatalities.
But Summit County is not immune. In Frisco, a 22-year-old man was killed on Summit Boulevard during a snowstorm in 2022. A cyclist was killed on Highway 9 north of Silverthorne in 2023. In 2012, a woman was killed at the infamous U.S. Highway 6 crosswalk in Keystone during ski season.
Improving the U.S. 6 crosswalk is a top priority for the new town of Keystone. Frisco is currently rebuilding the sidewalk on Summit Boulevard, raising it above the roadway to avoid future whiteout incidents.
These improvements are necessary, but for some, like survivor Ana Lucaci, of Denver, they are just one part of the solution.
“In the United States, streets and roads were built for cars first, and we thought of pedestrians, bicycles and other modes of transportation afterwards,” Lucaci says. “But we need to be reminded that we are all pedestrians at some point during the day, and us as motorists need to be aware of the most vulnerable in traffic.”
Every survivor who talked with CDOT shares one message: Do not drive distracted.
“Drivers just need to be alert to their surroundings,” Gallegos says. “Don’t be distracted, keep your eyes on the road, especially if you’re approaching an intersection. All it takes is a second and you could ruin someone’s life.”