DENVER — For the drivers who speed by, the intersection of Speer and Bannock in Denver is just another stoplight, but for Bex Paz, it’s the spot her brother’s life changed forever.
"I would do anything for my brother," Paz said. "He had so many injuries. So many broken bones. His lung was collapsed, his spleen was damaged. His spine was fractured. But his biggest issue is his traumatic brain injury."
Paz's brother Mike Bomberger was riding a non-electric scooter when he was hit by a driver crossing the street on the morning of Dec. 8. He’s still in the hospital fighting for his life.
Nearly every morning, Pax stands at the intersection with a sign asking for witnesses to the crash more than a month and a half ago to come forward with information about what happened.
The driver stopped, but no one has been charged.
"The reason we need witnesses is because Mike cannot tell his side of the story. He’s still in a coma and he might not ever be able to tell us his side of the story," Paz said. "He still has not regained consciousness and we’ve been told that we should prepare ourselves for that to be a possibly permanent situation."
This is one crash – a crash that’s not even included in the record-breaking year of deadly Colorado road crashes of 2022. Last year, 745 people died on Colorado roads -- the most since 1981. This includes a record number of pedestrians and motorcyclists.
It’s hard to pinpoint the increase in road deaths on one specific problem. There is an increase in the number of crashes involving impaired drivers as well as distracted drivers and cars that are speeding.
The last time Colorado saw this many traffic deaths was 1981. There have been a lot of safety improvements to roadways and cars since then, but the high statistics remain.
"All of those deaths, and then how many families are in my situation where their loved one will never recover fully? How many more people is that? Do we know?" Paz said.
Beyond the statistics, there are stories. Paz hopes someone saw the moment that put her brother in the hospital.
Paz said she'll keep standing at the corner with her sign.
"If you saw a man get hit by a red Porsche at 8:45 a.m. on Dec. 8, you haven’t forgotten about it," Paz said. "You remember that day. We’re really hoping those people will come forward and help our family."
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