ARVADA, Colo. — Stan Politano was killed in the Thursday evening Interstate 70 wreck that killed three others and injured 10. Cathi Politano, his wife, hadn't heard the news, but she knew.
According to her, she knew because their almost 50 years of marriage was made from a constant connection.
"We would check in probably four times a day," Cathi Politano said.
He would also say one of his famous sayings. "'You have a lot of wood to chop, what are you waiting for,'" she offered as an example.
The grandfather checked in with his wife last Thursday as well.
"He called me on the way home, said he was leaving work," she explained. "He said, 'I love you,' and I'll be there in a minute and I turned on the news and I saw the accident," Cathi Politano said. "And I knew that was his way home every night."
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Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 23, was driving his semi-truck down from the mountains on I-70 when he struck the back of stopped traffic near 6th Avenue. In all, 28 cars were involved in the accident. Aguilera-Mederos has been arrested and has his next court hearing Friday, May 4.
After turning on the news and seeing the report about the wreck, Cathi Politano said that's when she knew it was the last check-in phone call she'd get from her husband.
"If the last thing you hear is, 'I love you,' that's pretty good," she said.
She's just thankful she got to hear those words as often as she did.
"The importance of daily connection," Cathi Politano continued. "The importance of knowing each other and staying close. I can't imagine what it would be if you didn't have that."
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