Lauren Lennon joined the Denver7 news team in August 2025 as a morning reporter.
As the Colorado Department of Transportation launches a 15-day holiday DUI enforcement period, one grieving family is sharing their son’s story to remind drivers that every impaired crash is preventable.
Denver7 sat down with the Smalls, who lost their son Ethan in a crash in January 2019, to share their story ahead of the holiday season and encourage others to consider road safety.“He's always been a part of us. He will always be a part of us,” said his father, Howard Small, adding that Ethan continues to live on in them.Ethan, who was working as a Lyft driver for extra income, had just dropped off a passenger at a Denver park-and-ride when a drunk driver crashed into his car.'He had dropped off the passenger, then was proceeding through an intersection with a green light, and the person who murdered him was going approximately 100 miles an hour,' said Howard Small. ' blew through a red light and broadsided my son's car. That day was the beginning of a horrific and life-changing experience for us.'“The holidays and every day are hard because Ethan should be here,' said Ethan's mother, Polli Small.In light of families like the Smalls, CDOT reported this week a 22% drop in impaired driving-related deaths compared to this time in 2022. Officials also stated that 205 people have died in crashes involving impaired drivers, down from the all-time high of 286 in 2022.'We are making progress; fewer people in 2025 have died at the hands of an impaired driver, but they continue to do so,” said Colonel Matthew C. Packard, the Chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a press conference on Wednesday.“Any progress is great, but every life is valuable,” said Howard Small. 'You always like to hear an improvement. But the fact is, it's a multiplying effect. It's still all these people, year after year. It has to be stopped.'“The thing about it is that this is a 100% preventable crime,' emphasized Polli Small. “We want to ask people that, particularly at this time of year, when we should all get to our destination safely, that people make the right choice, the safe choice.'Uber and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are offering a discount code for the entire Denver Metro area.You can enter “JOYFUL-CO-25” in the app to get $8 off a ride between December 24 and January 2.
CDOT Says Impaired Driving Related Deaths Are Down CDOT Shared New Data On Impaired Driving Related D Ethan Small UBER And MADD Provide Discount Code During Holiday Colorado
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