LAKEWOOD — When 9-month old Angus Tate grows up, his mother, Chauncey Tate, will tell him a guardian angel saved him and his family.
“I want to be able to give Angus the love we were shown by Sgt. Renfro,” she said.
The family, who credits fallen Jefferson County sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Renfro with protecting their lives, honored his memory Monday afternoon at the Upper Room Church in Lakewood.
Renfro was off-duty when an out-of-control vehicle struck him after he had stopped to direct traffic at a multicar accident on U.S. 285 Saturday afternoon near Conifer.
The first accident in the chain occurred when Chauncey Tate lost control of the sport utility vehicle she was driving with her brother Kenny Tate and her son, Angus. They were on their way back from a church youth conference on the icy, snow-covered roadway when the vehicle crashed into the side of a mountain.
The family was uninjured, but the vehicle felt unsafe as they waited for assistance, they said.
When Renfro stopped to help, he invited the Tate family to keep warm in his truck while he directed traffic.
“If it wasn’t for him keeping us safe, we wouldn’t be here,” Chauncey Tate said. “We are thankful.”
Renfro was on the southbound side of U.S. 285 when he was hit by a vehicle driven by Blair Gledhill, 22, of Denver, who lost control, said Cpl. Heather Cobler, spokeswoman for the Colorado State Patrol. Renfro was pronounced dead at the scene.
Through tears, Kenny Tate said had they not been inside Renfro’s truck, they would likely have been killed based on the position of their vehicle.
“I can’t explain the amount of gratitude I have for him,” Chauncey Tate said.
The Tate family said they are praying for Renfro’s family and children during this difficult time.
“I wish it could have been different. I wish he didn’t have to lose his life,” said Derwood Tate, Chauncey and Kenny’s father.
The crash that killed Renfro was the third in a chain reaction of accidents on an icy, snow-covered stretch of southbound U.S. 285, about 8 miles west of C-470.
The fatal crash also sent Renfro’s friend and previously uninjured people in the second crash to a hospital with moderate to serious injuries, according to the state patrol.
The CSP is investigating the crash and does not believe alcohol or drugs were factors, Cobler said.
She said the patrol is looking into weather, road conditions and vehicle speeds as causes of the crash.
