ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — An Englewood man is struggling to move forward this holiday season after losing his wife and granddaughter in a fatal traffic collision; now, he's hoping to get answers so no one else is hurt or killed.
"I'm trying to pick up the pieces, keep going forward," Frank Snell said through tears.
On Aug. 26, Snell's wife, Diana "Dee" Snell, and his 2-year-old granddaughter, Jordan, who goes by Jojo, were killed when their vehicle was hit head-on by a pickup truck on U.S. 285 near Conifer.
The family was returning from a camping trip, and Snell was traveling in another car ahead of his wife.
"They couldn't have been 20 minutes behind us," he said.
Troopers said the Benjamin Bobier was behind the wheel of the pickup truck that caused the crash. He died a day after the collision.
At the time, Colorado State Patrol said alcohol and speed were suspected factors. Court records show Bobier was a habitual traffic offender.
"This guy should've never been on the road. As a matter of fact, I sent an email to Gov. Jared Polis about two months ago," Snell said. "I want to talk about the way some of this stuff is handled through the courts and what's fair."
Snell's daughter, Amber, and son, Adam, were also injured but survived the crash. His daughter is still in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury.
"I've been [to the hospital] every day, and she has no idea that I've even been there when I talked to her, so I don't know how she's going to come home, if she's going to be wheelchair bound or she could recover 100%," he said.
Snell said when and if his daughter regains her memory, his biggest dread is having to tell her details about the crash.
"I have to be the one to tell her that she lost her mom and her youngest daughter. It's not time for that. She's already broken, and I can't break her anymore," he said.
Snell said he has yet to hear from the governor, but court records show Bobier had a lengthy criminal history, including three DUI convictions and multiple arrests pertaining to drugs or alcohol. Days before the crash, Bobier was cited for other traffic violations after leading law enforcement on a chase.
"Somebody like this who has a track record of doing this over and over again... yeah, something needs to be done," Snell said.
While Snell hopes for changes, he's left to raise his other granddaughter, 5-year-old Aliyah.
The tragedy has left Snell's job as the only source of income while medical bills continue to pile up. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with expenses.
Denver7 reached out to Polis' office about the matter and has yet to hear back.