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AURORA, Colo. — If you’re planning on drinking or consuming marijuana this holiday weekend, a Colorado father has a message for you: don’t drive.

On Christmas Eve, Brett Shaw got a call he never could have imagined. His wife Sancy and their daughter Charlee were heading home to Routt County on Interstate 70 when a suspected drunk and high driver crossed into oncoming traffic and hit their vehicle. Sancy was killed.

“The reality is, our family is hurting,” Shaw says. “My boys are hanging in there, but it’s very hard.”

Investigators believe the driver who caused the crash, 62-year-old Cheri Goodard of Frederick, was under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Charlee, 6, was seriously injured. She was airlifted to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where she is receiving treatment. Shaw says she opened one eye for the first time Friday night, and is breathing on her own.

Shaw is hoping his family’s story will convince at least one person to avoid getting behind the wheel impaired.

“Your actions of getting behind the wheel, when driving intoxicated, impaired, can have an effect that will last through eternity,” says Shaw. “It’s a simple decision to make before you even get into that position: to plan ahead, to be safe, to keep your friends safe.”

In the Denver area, RTD is providing free rides on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“The reality of Charlee even being here is a miracle in and of itself,” Shaw says. “She has head trauma, major head trauma. We don’t know how that’s going to play out, but there are positive signs.”

Shaw has been staying with his daughter at Children’s while she recovers.

“When I hold her hand and talk to her, her heart rate will go up, and we just keep telling her that we are with her and she is safe,” Shaw said.

The family has set up a memorial fund through Yampa Valley Bank, 600 South Lincoln Ave. #100, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487: 970-879-2993.

A GoFundMe account has also been established for those wishing to contribute online.

A celebration of life for Sancy is scheduled for Jan. 11 in Steamboat Springs.