The small, tight-knit community of Fort Lupton is rallying around a family devastated by the loss of a mother and child.
Christine Prieto, 40, and her 9-year-old son, Salvador, known as “Lil Sal,” died from injuries they received in a Sunday morning traffic crash near Dacono.
Students at Butler Elementary School remembered their 4th-grade classmate and friend this morning at a memorial at the Fort Lupton High School football field where kids sang, read poems, and recalled Lil Sal. Dozens of colorful ballons were released as part of the program, which included members of the whole community.
“It was amazing,” said Bianca Prieto, Salvador’s sister and Christine’s step-daughter. “The stands were full.”
Bianca Prieto, who worked at The Denver Post as a staff writer in 2005, said local support for her family has been incredible, including an impromptu memorial made up of flowers, candles, teddy bears and other assorted items near their home.
“There are signs up all over town” mourning the loss, including acknowledgment on a digital sign at a local bank, she said.
Sal Prieto, Christine’s husband, is a small-business man who grew up in Weld County. Prieto has 13-year-old twin sons, Joseph and Julian, who are 8th-graders at Fort Lupton Middle School.
Friends and neighbors have been streaming by the Prieto home this week with food and offers of help.
“Whenever this is a need, there will be people there to back you and love and support you in whatever you are going through,” said Mariann Johnston, who attended school with Sal Prieto. “The family is outstanding and well known in the community.”
A rosary will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at St. Williams Catholic Church, 1025 Fulton Ave., and a mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the church.
Christine Prieto worked for Hofgard Benefits in Boulder, where she sold health insurance, and was extremely involved in her boys’ activities.
“Her boys and my dad were her priority,” Bianca Prieto said. “She was really a kind-hearted soul. She was devoted to God. She really was a woman of faith who had a good heart and was very king and giving.”
Salvador’s organs were harvested and will be donated through the Donor Alliance program.
“My little brother was the same, just like his mother,” Bianca Prieto said. “Our boy, he was giving. He always liked to help people. This way, he can continue to help people.”
Memorial contributions may be made to the Prieto Family Memorial Fund, c/o Bank of Colorado, 111 S. Raleigh Ave., Fort Lupton, 80621.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
