{"id":407807,"date":"2025-11-27T07:13:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/407807\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T07:13:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T07:13:17","slug":"colorado-state-senator-killed-in-multi-vehicle-crash-south-of-denver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/407807\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado state senator killed in multi-vehicle crash south of Denver"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

State Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield Democrat and the mother of two children, was killed Wednesday night in a multi-vehicle crash south of Denver.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The wreck happened about 6 p.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 near Dry Creek Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deputy John Bartmann of the Arapahoe County Sheriff\u2019s Office said there were three people injured and one person was killed in the five-vehicle crash. He said the cause of the wreck is under investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cause is going to take some time to figure out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bartmann said he could not provide information on who was killed and injured in the crash. But The Colorado Sun learned that Winter was the person who died, which was later confirmed by her family and top Democrats at the Capitol.<\/p>\n

Winter, 45, had a son and daughter. She was engaged to marry former state Rep. Matt Gray, a fellow Democrat.<\/p>\n

Winter was a fierce advocate for transit and served as chair of the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee. She was entering her 12th and final year as a state lawmaker because of term limits.<\/p>\n

\"\"Colorado Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield, speaks to reporters during a news conference about the state\u2019s 2035 transportation plan in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)<\/p>\n

Senate President James Coleman and Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, both Denver Democrats, confirmed Winter\u2019s death in a written statement and said they were \u201cdevastated\u201d and that their \u201chearts are with Sen. Winter\u2019s family and friends as they navigate this unimaginable loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. Winter was a colleague whose presence brought warmth and an invaluable perspective to the Capitol,\u201d the senators said. \u201cWe will miss her leadership, her partnership, and her deep commitment to a brighter Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that the state is \u201cshaken\u201d by Winter\u2019s passing, calling her a \u201cfierce advocate for hardworking Coloradans, women, families, and our climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened for her family, her friends and colleagues, and her community,\u201d Polis said, adding that he had known Winter for 20 years. \u201cFaith\u2019s work and advocacy made Colorado a better state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beloved by her colleagues, Winter often had her dog, Queso, in tow at the Capitol. Her daughter sold Girl Scout cookies outside the House and Senate chambers. The senator was quick to offer a hug to those having a bad day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But she was also a skilled and tough policymaker, especially when it came to transportation and environmental issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"State Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, shows off the stack of amendments she was prepared to offer on her paid family and parental leave bill on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)<\/p>\n

Among Winter\u2019s accomplishments in the legislature was passing a measure raising billions of dollars for transportation projects in Colorado by imposing new fees<\/a> on the purchase of gas and diesel fuel, as well as on rideshare rides and deliveries.\u00a0She champions a ballot measure approved by voters that created a government-run paid family and parental leave program<\/a>. And she rose to become the assistant Senate majority leader, the No. 3 role in the chamber in 2023.<\/p>\n

In 2018, when she was a state representative, Winter came forward to allege she had been sexually harassed by a fellow Democratic state lawmaker, Rep. Steve Lebsock. The Colorado House ultimately voted to oust Lebsock<\/a>, in large part because of Winter\u2019s decision to speak\u00a0 about her experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lebsock\u2019s ouster led the legislature to bolster its workplace harassment policies and eventually hire someone for the first time to field complaints.<\/p>\n

When she wasn\u2019t at the Capitol, Winter worked to train Democratic women across the country on how to run for office. Before being elected to the Colorado legislature in 2014, Winter served on the Westminster City Council<\/a> from 2007 to 2015.<\/p>\n

\"\"State Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, and her dog, Queso, in Winter\u2019s office at the Colorado Capitol. (Carly Rose, Rocky Mountain PBS via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance)<\/p>\n

House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, and House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, called Winter \u201can exceptional legislator, a champion for working people and a steadfast defender of our environment and abortion rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCluskie and Duran, in a statement, called Winter a \u201ctrailblazer\u201d who \u201calways fought for Colorado\u2019s most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said \u201cWinter was always there to challenge us to do unimaginable things in the service of the people who need the most help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter had health struggles during her time at the Capitol. In 2022, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune<\/a> disease that nearly killed her. A year later, she suffered a head injury<\/a> in a bike accident. Then, in 2024, Winter briefly stepped away from her legislative work to seek medical treatment for alcoholism.<\/p>\n

The decision to seek treatment came after she appeared to be intoxicated<\/a> while attending a community hearing in Northglenn that year. The Colorado Senate Committee on Ethics found that Winter failed to meet the Senate\u2019s ethics standards<\/a> requiring that she promote public integrity and public confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Democratic vacancy committee in Senate District 25 will determine who will serve out Winter\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will follow up with any information regarding the vacancy process once we\u2019ve all collectively been able to take a breath, grieve, and process \u2014 that\u2019s the most important thing we can do right now,\u201d said Murib.<\/p>\n

Type of Story: News<\/p>\n

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"State Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield Democrat and the mother of two children, was killed Wednesday night in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":407808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4439,192123,192124,51,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-407807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-colorado","9":"tag-colorado-state-patrol","10":"tag-faith-winter","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115620427925004490","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}