Drivers on C-470 may notice a change in their commute this week as Douglas County replaces the final signs for Lucent Boulevard to reflect the roadway’s new name: Kendrick Castillo Way.
The high school senior was killed saving fellow students at the Highlands Ranch STEM School shooting in May 2019. The county said the renaming honors not only Kendrick’s heroism but also the strength and resilience of his family, who have worked to ensure his legacy lives on.
The county formally honored that legacy in December during a ceremony led by his parents, John and Maria Castillo, and attended by friends, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners, Gov. Jared Polis, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly and other state and local representatives.
“Kendrick was a vibrant and caring young man. He had friends everywhere and deeply cared about his community and people he never met,” John Castillo said at the time. “It’s about honoring. It’s about remembering. Kendrick loved people so much, in a split second, he did what he had to do to save lives.”
The Kendrick Castillo Memorial Oversight Committee requested the name change, which was approved by Commissioners last year.
“Kendrick Castillo Way is more than a street sign; it is a way of life. Running into 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,” said Commissioner Abe Laydon. The committee has also organized the naming of a robotics lab, a memorial in Civic Green Park and a scholarship fund in Kendrick’s name.
