BLACK HAWK - A DUI checkpoint held Friday night, August 15, at the Z-Stop gas station on Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon brought together Colorado State Patrol, Black Hawk Police, Golden Police, and the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office. 

From 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., every car entering the line was briefly screened, with troopers looking for signs of impairment before waving drivers through or moving them aside for further testing.

Why now

Public Information Officer Sherri Mendez said the timing was deliberate. “We’re trying to get the chief’s message out there that we do not want impairment out there, so this is why we’re doing it,” she explained. 

“From Memorial Day to Labor Day, we have the 100 deadliest days of summer. So it’s leading up to Labor Day right now, and that’s kind of what’s prompting this.” 

She added, “Yeah, they’ve told me since April they’ve been planning it… It takes a lot of effort to go into it, just because we have to get other agencies, so this took months of planning.”

Signs gave drivers a choice

Several bright signs were posted ahead of the site, making it clear that a checkpoint was in place. Drivers who didn’t want to go through had the option to turn around, with some officers pointing out that a safer choice might be heading back up to Black Hawk to get a hotel room for the night.

Erika Jansen’s mission

Among the law enforcement vehicles and flashing lights stood Erika Jansen, a volunteer with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). 

Her daughter, Talena Cabot, was just 24 years old when she was killed in 2021 by a drunk driver going 112 miles an hour. 

“My daughter was headed to be a police officer. She was killed five minutes from my house by a drunk and drugged lady….This is what saves lives. They’re saving lives tonight. They don’t realize they are, but they are.”

Jansen said her grief drives her to keep showing up at checkpoints. “The amount of pain I feel every day…. If I can help one mom and one family from not going through this, yep. It’s become my whole thing. It’s what I live by.”

This was only Jansen’s second official checkpoint, but she has been to several “slush” operations where multiple agencies fan out to catch impaired drivers. 

“I talk to people that get DUIs about my daughter, but the police officers are the main ones because they’re the only ones that are going to save the lives of them. And the cadets when they’re going in, just turning around and talking to them.”

She explained that while impaired driving will never disappear completely, checkpoints force a pause. “They’re not going to stop drinking. And they most likely won’t stop driving. But at least for one night you save lives.”

Numbers from the night

Within 18 minutes of beginning the checkpoint, at least five drivers had been pulled aside for sobriety tests. A short time later, eight vehicles were staged in the secondary screening area.

The site was prepared for anything. Along with patrol cars, there was an Intoxilyzer machine, staff certified to draw blood for THC intoxication, and an ambulance staged nearby. “Everything is well put together and organized,” Mendez said.

The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office handled all the incoming arrests. CSP made contact with 760 vehicles, performed 28 roadside tests, and arrested a total of six individuals for DUI.  In addition, one impaired driver was arrested in the area of the checkpoint on a traffic stop. (CSP press release, Aug. 18, 2025)