GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) – On Wednesday, the Mothers Against Drunk Driving nonprofit (MADD) and the Colorado Department of Transportation held a ceremony honoring 10 regional safety professionals for their efforts to combat and prevent driving while impaired.
The ceremony at Colorado Mesa University not only paid tribute to the professionals on the front lines of the DUI crisis but also honored those who lost their lives from impaired drivers. People like Alexi Lee, a senior in high school whose mother tells WesternSlopeNow was killed by a drunk and high driver just two years after her best friend was also killed by a drunk driver.
Trooper Dennis Guffey received the excellence in leadership award. He tells us stories like Alexi’s mirror experiences from his own childhood.
“DUIs are so important to me,” says Guffey. “I lost a friend when I was 14 years old, and ever since then, it’s been a really, really close thing for me.”
The Colorado Department of Transportation tells us approximately one-third of all Colorado traffic fatalities involve an impaired driver. In Grand Junction, those numbers have trended down since 2022. But to get to zero, officials say, the decision is in drivers’ hands.
“Use taxis, use Ubers, use Lyft,” says Guffey. “Whatever you gotta do to get home safe. If you feel like you’re even slightly impaired, just get a ride home. It’s not worth it.”
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