A tragic collision on Interstate 76 in Adams County, Colorado, on the night of December 7, in which four first responders were struck and injured by a suspected drunk driver, has caused an uproar in the community surrounding responsible driving.
The first responders — two Commerce City police officers and two South Adams County firefighters — were hit by the DUI driver while ironically attending to a separate DUI crash investigation. The incident has since prompted a fervent plea from law enforcement and firefighting agencies for the public to abstain from driving under the influence.
According to police officials, the suspected drunk driver, identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Winters of Brighton, drove through barricades and struck the four responders who were working outside their vehicles at the scene.
The first responders had set up a traffic accident management zone on I-76, with a fire truck blocking two lanes of traffic and other vehicles directing drivers to pass on the right shoulder. Despite these safety measures, Winters reportedly drove around the left side of the fire truck and into the closed lanes.
Commerce City Police Chief Darrel Guadnola expressed frustration during a news conference the following day.
“This driver, for whatever reason, found a small opening between the left shoulder and the back of the fire apparatus and decided to go around the left instead of the right, at which time he struck the four individuals who were working,” the chief stated.
The injured first responders were rushed to the hospital by their colleagues. One firefighter underwent surgery, while the other three sustained injuries of varying degrees.
“This has to stop,” Commerce City Manager Jason Rogers said during the news conference. “We as a community have to come together. We have to make the wise decisions. We have to be vocal. We have to be present. And we need to make sure we’re thinking about the safety of all of our members of our community at all times.”
Colorado State Patrol Master Sergeant Gary Cutler noted the persistent issue of drunk driving across the state: “We’ve talked, we’ve talked and we’ve talked, and nobody’s listening here. It comes down to laziness and being self-absorbed. There’s no reason that anybody needs to be drinking and driving.”
Cutler appealed to members of the community.
“These people have families. They have co-workers. This doesn’t just affect one person. It’s an entire community when this happens, so we need to put a stop to it,” he added.
Fire Chief Ken Koger of the South Adams County Fire Department expressed the changing nature of dangers faced by first responders.
“Being a firefighter today, walking into a burning building is not the danger of the job anymore. It’s being out on the highways,” Koger said.
Winters, the alleged drunk driver, was arrested at the scene and faces charges of felony vehicular assault and DUI.
The incident has reignited concerns about the increasing number of DUI-related incidents, with the CSP investigating 251 impaired crashes in Adams County last year alone. In one incident in July, two separate drivers crashed into the same accident scene about an hour apart. The second one struck the rear of the patrol car of Trooper Kevin Bagley, who was investigating the initial crash, causing him to leap out of the way, over the railing of the elevated road, and fall 30 feet onto the riverbank below. Amazingly, he landed on soft ground and did not sustain major injuries.
In response to the traffic dangers, Cutler said the CSP is taking steps to mitigate the problem. However, the danger remains.
“We are doing everything we possibly can. We are blocking the roads, we have got giant vehicles, we’ve got people directing traffic, we have cones, and this is still not enough that we cannot keep people out of these zones where they’re hurting our personnel,” Cutler said.
