CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — On Sunday, family, friends and fellow first responders met on the shoulder of Interstate 25 in Castle Rock to remember Colorado State Patrol Trooper Cody Donahue.
In November 2016, Donahue was hit and killed while working a crash on Interstate 25 near Castle Rock. After two mistrials, the man responsible for his death was convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Velma Donahue-Sandberg was Donahue's wife. She visits the location where he was killed every year.
"It's hard to be up there and know this was the last place that he was, and he was helping somebody else, trying to keep them safe and he, he didn't make it," Donahue-Sandberg said.
The Move Over law requires drivers to move over one lane if they see a stopped vehicle with its hazards on. In 2017, the penalties for not obeying that law increased in honor of Donahue. Donahue-Sandberg advocated for those changes.
"To think about the fact that even after he died, so many others have been killed in the same manner, and I just want people to please, please slow down and move over," she said.
On Nov. 6, during a snowstorm, a driver hit and killed a Golden Police officer.
On Sunday, Donahue-Sandberg continued to urge drivers to move over.
"Just to move over. I want them to just see how terrible and tragic and how much heartache a person goes through when they lose somebody like that," Donahue-Sandberg said.
Donahue-Sandberg said it's a reminder for all drivers as we continue to move through the holiday season.
"Cody was killed on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which was a busy day with a lot of traffic,” she said.