NORTH FRONT RANGE

Traffic fatalities see drop since 2024

Safe driving is trending up in the northern Front Range, according to recent data from the Colorado Department of Transportation.

No DUI NoCo, a coalition working to make roads safer by reducing impaired driving, celebrated the new data, saying it was a positive step with work remaining to be done.

No DUI NoCo attributes a 21% drop in statewide traffic fatalities to a number of initiatives, including a ban on holding phones while driving, updated child passenger safety requirements and increased enforcement on toll roads, targeting dangerous driving like weaving between lanes.

Since last year, Larimer County traffic deaths dropped from 11 to 5, while Weld County saw a decrease from 17 to 14.

Impaired driving is also on a decline statewide, according to the data, but the group noted that several municipalities in Northern Colorado have seen upticks against the state trend.

“This emphasizes the importance of our continued work to prevent impaired driving. No DUI NoCo believes every life saved is worth celebrating — and every life lost is one too many,” it wrote in a press release about the new data.

It also pointed out that the coming months typically see the highest fatality rates of the year, and urged residents to stay sober or find a ride, wear seat belts, avoid using phones while driving, follow speed limits and be particularly vigilant over the next three months.

PUEBLO AREA

Body found in burning car

A body was discovered in a burning car early Monday morning in the Pueblo area.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation launched a death investigation after a passerby called 911 to report a burning car on the west side of the frontage road along Interstate 25, according to a CBI news release. The 911 call came just after 1 a.m. Monday.

The Pueblo Fire Department extinguished the fire and firefighters discovered a body inside the vehicle. The Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control assisted.

An autopsy was to be conducted by the Pueblo County Coroner to identify the person and to determine the cause and manner of death.

— Staff and Denver Post reports