DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado roads over Independence Day weekend saw multiple deadly crashes, including two hit-and-runs along the Front Range and Western Slope.

The uptick in "preventable tragedies" prompted the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol to issue a warning to drivers about staying safe on the roads and following the law.

The agencies also said more reports of deadly crashes are expected in the future, and the data "paints a grim picture of the alarming behavior" on the road.

Some crashes included a pedestrian hit by multiple drivers, including one who has not been identified, in Delta County early Sunday morning; a bicyclist hit and killed on U.S. 40 near Parshall on Saturday; a fiery crash on Interstate 70 in the mountains; and a person changing their tire on Interstate 25 Saturday morning in Denver when a hit-and-run driver struck them.

"This holiday weekend, Colorado roads became the scene of preventable tragedies,” said Sally Chaffee, CDOT’s acting executive director, in a press release. “We witnessed multiple fatalities statewide, including two cowardly hit-and-run crashes at opposite ends of the state. We are imploring every passenger to have the courage to speak up when you see dangerous driving. Your intervention can be the difference between life and death—for yourself, for the driver, and for everyone else on the road."

State officials urged drivers to follow several guidelines to stay safe:

• Obey Colorado’s Move Over law
• Never drive impaired
• Avoid distractions
• Buckle up

The Move Over law was updated in 2023 to require drivers to slow down or move over for any vehicle on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. Additionally, a new law went into effect earlier this year prohibiting drivers from holding a phone while driving.

The top factors in fatal crashes in Colorado include speed, impairment and not using seat belts.

“No one thing caused these fatal crashes, but there is one clear solution," stated Col. Matthew C Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in a press release. "Take the privilege of driving seriously by never engaging in behavior that could end a life.”