DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. – Drivers on C-470 will notice a change to overhead highway signs to reflect the renaming of the former Lucent Boulevard to Kendrick Castillo Way, honoring the hero student who charged a gunman and ultimately lost his life during the 2019 STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch.
The highway signs are expected to be swapped out this week after Castillo’s family and officials unveiled Kendrick Castillo Way back in November.
A memorial committee set up in honor of Castillo requested the name change, which was approved by Douglas County Commissioners.
“As founder and chairman of the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Committee, I believed it was very important for our community to turn tragedy into triumph and elevate the name of one of our greatest heroes, Kendrick Castillo, as a beacon of courage and heroism to all who come to Douglas County,” said DougCo Commissioner Abe Laydon in a news release.
“Kendrick Castillo Way is more than a street sign; it is a way of life. Running into the danger and the unknown to save others, sacrificing your life to save someone else – that’s the highest expression of who we can be as humans and as Coloradans.”
The county said the process to change the signs has been underway since late last year.
STEM School Shooting
Highlands Ranch road renamed to honor STEM School hero Kendrick Castillo
Castillo, a member of the school’s robotic club, was in class on May 7, 2019, when a student pulled out a gun. Castillo, along with two other classmates, charged the student to disarm him when Castillo – a senior and just days away from finishing school – was fatally shot. The shooting injured another student who jumped into action to help.
Last May, Denver7 spoke with Castillo’s parents who said they visited their son’s grave every day over the last five years since he was lost.
“We come here and tell him that we love him. We tell him what his friends are doing," said John Castillo, Kendrick's dad. “We have that conversation as if he was here with us, and we were able to get a little bit of peace about explaining what's going on in our lives... It's a one-way conversation that sometimes feels really good, you know?”
- You can watch Denver7's Colette Bordelon's sit-down interview with Castillo's parents in the video player below.
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