DENVER — The Colorado Dept. of Transportation (CDOT) has urged people to keep off the roads this weekend because of the forecasted snowstorm.
While crews, including the National Guard, will be on standby, officials do not want to see drivers stranded in the conditions like in storms past. They also want to keep drivers, emergency responders and others safe.
Transportation and emergency officials are not the only ones asking for people to stay home. For Kate Wyeth, it’s a personal plea.
“To me, it’s very personal. It’s family, it’s friends. These aren’t just uniforms, these are people with families, and people who care about them and miss them all the time,” she said.
Wyeth lost her cousin, Cpl. Dan Groves with Colorado State Patrol, during the bomb cyclone on March 13, 2019. A driver hit and killed Groves as the trooper was out of his car on I-76 assisting someone else during the storm.
"His team was telling us that when the weather came, Dan chose to go out there and to get people off of 76, and to help. And I think that just speaks to who he is –who he was. He was the guy to want to help," Wythe said.
As Colorado faces another weather event, she hopes the reminder of her family's loss will encourage people to stay off the roads, or at least take some precautions while driving.
"If you see the flashing lights, if you see a tow truck pulled over, if you see a tractor-trailer—yield. Give them some space. It doesn’t take but a second to do that and show a little care and concern for the other people on the road, and it makes a difference at the end of the day," Wythe said.
She added that a memorial for her cousin at the crash site has been postponed because of the potential for severe weather.
CDOT expects dangerous conditions along I-70, I-25 and other corridors in the foothills and throughout the Front Range. If conditions warrant, roads will close. Snow is expected to fall heavily in the Denver metro area on Sunday.
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