doing quite well. we are happy to say. they would much rather be in this hospital than on the side of the mountain where they were. but they are hopeing to be released soon. tommy and matt are being treated in the burn unit of this hospital. each survived the difficult ordeal with only frostbite to the toes and a thumb. they were rescued yesterday when a black hawk helicopter and ground searchers spotted their tracks. but a snowstorm came in early and created white-out conditions. then, they got lost in what is called the bermuda triangle of the rockies. >> when we nor the meadow, we just kind of, we were praying to god because he was definitely with us the whole climb. probably the only thing keeping us alive. >> to kind of give up and say no, i will hand it over to god, he is in control of this.

get out of here. the next thing we know, we are helicoptered out. >> reporter: we were there yesterday as they were placed in an ambulance. then taken to vail valley medical center. and then here to university hospital because they have a special treatment here. one of the few in the country, for frostbite. that is why they are in the burn unit. very happy to be alive this thanksgiving. live in aurora, rick sallinger, cbs4 news. >> really thank you for sharing, new information on a head on crash that killed one person near eerie this morning. state troopers say 25-year-old alex rodriguez was driving the wrong way on i-25. crashed head on into a subaru. the passenger in that car, 19- year-old kyle nacos, was killed. the driver of that car is still in the hospital with life threatening injuries. troopers believe that rodriguez was under the influence of alcohol. he, too, went to the hospital and is expected to survive.

two of their love ones after fire ripped through their lives last week. janelle vargas was killed and her 32-year-old son gabriel died trying to save her. the fire started last wednesday at their home on 7th avenue not far from 225. andrea flores is live in aurora for us tonight. really a tough thanksgiving for that family. >> reporter: certainly a tough day. karen. it has been one week since john vargas lost a devastating fire. he has since returned to flowers and messages of support from the community and despite losing everything, vargas says he still has a lot to be thankful for. >> because it happened so fast, it was minutes. my whole world turned around. >> reporter: a fire tore through the home in aurora destroying everything in its path. john vargas and his four sons

>> immediately, you couldn't see walls or anything. but i had to get in. i kept yelling for her. kept yelling for her. it wasn't going to happen. >> reporter: when john couldn't get to her, his son gabriel went back in to try and help. >> he ran back in. he wasn't about to quit. >> reporter: janelle didn't make it out. >> my wife is little woman with the biggest heart in the world. >> reporter: gabrielle was left in critical condition after trying to save her. he was taken off life support over the weekend. >> he would tell his mother so many times i would die for you mom. and ironically, it came to pass, he did just that. he died trying to save his mother he loved so much. >> reporter: while it might be their first thanksgiving apart,

together. >> they are both going to be there. they will never be foregone. that's for sure. >> reporter: the family rushed out of the home and only and only managed to get out with the clothes they were wearing. a friend set up a go fund me page for them as they try to find a place to live. you can find the information on cbsdenver.com. reporting live in aurora, andrea underway in denver. one person was found dead this morning at 43rd and filmore. the people on scene are not cooperating with them. right now, things are back to normal at dia after a busy morning. the airport warned travelers of flight delays because of strong wind gusts today. dave diver is in colorado's weather center for us. >> things are settling down. high pressure is moving n. it

friday around here. but yeah, the winds this morning were crazy. i can see why dia had an issue. pretty good there. in boulder, 58. 68 dylan. rocky flats and wheat ridge, 72 and 74 miles an hour respectively this morning. things are a little better out there. we have breezing going in golden, it is 22. but about 10 in castle rock. 11 in aurora. as you get to places like canopa 33 at winter park. overall, the trend is for the winds to die down. doppler 4,000, mostly clear skies going on now. and, what we will see now, is a big high pressure ridge centered right over las vegas here. that will be moving in delivering a pretty nice day coming up for tomorrow and saturday. beyond that, there is another cold front we have to talk about coming in on sunday. i will let you know what that will do for us in a few minutes. >> thanks dave. happening now, black friday shopping already underway,

hour ago. we were there as the people rushed into the store to start buying things. cbs4's shawn chitnis is live at the store in colorado boulevard and denver. it should be a pretty busy night there tonight. >> reporter: yeah, karen, they are saw to a great start. take a look. people all over the store trying to get as many different items as they can. we are told by staff here they are very happy with the turnout so far. they are saying it is looking a lot better than last year. now, a lot of people are arriving just as the doors were but we also know some people actually showed up within the first 24 hours or even a full day before the doors opened. we talked to the first woman inside. she arrived here on wednesday night and actually camped out in her car until that line started to form. she said it was a cold night and a windy morning. but she said this was the store she needed to visit. there was a laptop she was

supply. turns out there was only one at this store and she was able to get it. many people here looking to get a 49-inch smart tv for less than $200. they had about 50 that were gone within the first five minutes. they say it was worth it to get that must-have product. >> absolutely. i mean, it is a deal. any time you can save money is the best time. >> will you be able to enjoy than i already have actually. >> reporter: so whether folks had dinner before or after coming to the store, they will take care of dinner. a lot of people here. looks like so far, the most popular item to get any type of tv. so many different deals for that at this store. live in denver, shawn chitnis, cbs4 news. >> for a list of stores that will be open, visit our website, cbsdenver.com. for people not wanting to

free. all 42 parks are waiving fees as a way to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the weather. fife other states including arizona ands california have also taken up similar campaigns. this is the second year in a row colorado has offered free access on black friday. >> hundreds of people all over the metro started their thanksgiving with a turkey trot that included a 96-year-old man in the highlands ranch. he was trying to break a world record. we will let you know just how he did. >> plus, a codo to car safety regulations. we will tell you about the hidden dangers in almost every single car seat. >> high pressure will be taking over to finish out the week. then, there is a cold front that will hit us.

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,, ,, >> happening now, as people in colorado hit the road, cdot is reminding everyone, make sure you buckle up. new statistics show the state is falling behind the rest of the country. seat belt use in 2016 reached a record high of 90% this year. but, a cdot study reports

84% of the time. developing now, a colorado congresswoman is one of three lawmakers demanding changes to vehicle safety regulations. it's the result of an ongoing cbs4 news investigation into the strength of car seats. kris van cleave has been exploring the concerns. he says the seats can fail in rear end crashes and result in serious injuries or death. >> we got hit. almost lost my baby. i'm sorry. >> reporter: three years to talk about the day she and her son eli were rear ended in their 2002 ford escort. as this crash simulation shows, the force of the collision caused hastings' seat to collapse launching her head first into her 15 month old son. eli spent more than a month in the hospital suffering brain damage. hearing loss, and partial pa rallies is town side of his face. >> it is difficult for a mother not knowing if your child is

say mommy ever again. >> reporter: our investigation has identified more than 100 cases where seat back clams resulted in serious injuries or death. mostly to children in the backseat. auto makers say all seats meet or exceed the federal standard for strength. a standard written in 1967. that even this banquet chair passes. senators ed marky and richard bloomenthal are letter demanding the agency take immediate action to remedy this significant deficiency. >> it makes it hard to say there is is a problem if the car makers are not reporting it. >> it. >> there is a huge regulatory black hole where the automotive industry is able to escape responsibility because they do not report these accidents. >> reporter: other accidents don't get reported because the auto makers are not required to if the car is more than ten

collapse, he wouldn't have suffered so much. he has to live with this for the rest of his life. >> reporter: auto makers can face stiff fines for not properly reporting accidents and its an allegation they take very seriously. the safest place for kids is the backseat. engineers admit the cost to fix seat backs could be on the order of a dollar or so, kris van washington. a patient from uganda is leaving the rocky mountain hospital for children with a new heart. little debra was born with a complicated heart defect. couldn't be fixed in uganda. in 2011, a charity called samaritans first flew her to denver for surgery.

back. this time, pediatric cardiologists saved her life by repairing a blockage in her heart. >> they didn't know if anything could be done to save her life. >> it is a great feeling to give that to someone and see how it affects their lives and how happy we can make them. >> debra and her mother are expected to travel back to uganda by mid december. new at 6:00 tonight, a 96- year-old man breaks a world record running the highlands ranch turkey day 5k. bob mcadam lives in a though. he broke a record for his age group finishing the race in 48 minutes and 19 seconds. >> it feels great. i will try to remember it. i once told my mother i would never be 55. that was when i was 19. didn't know better. >> fantastic, mcadam beat the record by almost two minutes. he thanked the crowd for cheering him on the entire way. all right, let's get to

a race. >> no kidding. that makes you want to get out and run. hey, check out this. this guy certainly not lazy down in telluride. shannon gibbs sent this shot in. thanksgiving in telluride. you have to hit the slopes. we had some snow early this morning when the cold front came through. some of the northern rocky and the foothills and weld county and sterling and washington county had a little light snow going on then that front blasted through with all the to clear out. and high pressure, a ridge of that, will start to take over, which is right around arizona all the way back into utah here. as that slides through, we will start to warm up. see a more westerly flow around here. temperatures going up tomorrow and pretty good day on saturday. but then, that next cold front which is already pushing into portland out there with some rain and some high mountain snow just outside of portland, washington, and oregon out there, that will be sliding in our direction now. tomorrow, we will be ahead of

state. but then, on sunday morning, this will increase the cloud cover. probably start cloudy. a little bit of rain and snow in the mountains of the western part of colorado as the low gets closer to us from vegas here. watch what happens. we get a little dry slot coming up into the rotation herement by afternoon, we clear out a little bit. by the time the low swings into southern colorado, much cooler weather. and tuesday might be our day for a little bit of measurable snow in denver the way things are looking. 49 was our high temperature. 48 downtown. that is a normal reading for this time of the year. 29 and 27 were morning lows. we are chilling down a little bit. 38 in town. we have 31 at dia with an east, southeast wind at 9. humidity at 47. michelle kelly at 46. westminster. it is cold in the mountains. 22 up in silverthorne. lows tonight, chilly with clear skies. 20s and teens out west.

mountains. we will be in the teens and 20s across the western plains. we will be 50s and 60s east. then still cool in the mountains and the west. a lot of 40s showing up in that part of the state. current temperatures right now, are dropping into the 30s already. so, we are on our way to a very cold night out there tonight. we will look to about 25 in the city. mostly clear skies. a little breezy too. and then tomorrow, mostly sunny. near 60 for the high tomorrow. another warm day on monday, 45. and then, 45 on tuesday with our next chance of snow. so out of the weekend, i think saturday will be the best day. >> we will certainly enjoy it. >> big weekend for the broncos and the buffs. >> a lot of good football this weekend. it is good football today as we. broncos shared some of their favorite thanksgiving memories. no surprise, they include football. plus, it will be a memorable thanksgiving weekend for the buffs if they can punch their

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>> time for the ford sports desk brought to you by the best selling trucks for 39 years

>> 2009, the last time the broncos played on thanksgiving day. they beat the giants at home in josh mcdaniel's first year in denver. they are 4-7 on turkey day. no game today, but the broncos still had to work. the boss stopped by as well. they had a quick morning practice. no afternoon meetings. they could spend most of the day with family and friends. moist of the players grew up playing football on thanksgiving. >> pretty much every thanksgiving back in california for me web seemed like it was raining. we called it mud ball. and pretty much the whole neighborhood, we just like, 40 on 40 playing against each other. it was real fun. >> i used to be too rough. they wouldn't let me play. yeah. sigh, i was playing in the streets with my older cousins. i was young, but i was big. they bring me to play ball with then. so i will be beating up on them as a little kid. it was fun. >> century link poll question.

for thanksgiving dinner who would it be? vote on cbsdenver.com. feisty football in dallas today. cowboys in washington. second quarter, dak prescott on the move. watch this terrance williams tiptoe double tap. fourth quarter, washington won't go away. kirk cousins going deep. no stopping the cowbs combo these days. ezekiel elliot runs in his second touchdown. and then they have won ten in a row. 31-26 the final. lions playing on thanksgiving for the 77th time hosting the vikings. battle for first in the nfc north. 7-0 detroit. but in typical lions fashion this year, they had the rally in the fourth quarter. they got a gift from sam bradford who threw an ill timed

win. lions improve to 7-4 overall. they are in first place. college football. when cu football joined, they wanted to be regional rivals. it helps to have meaningful games. something lacking the last five years on cu's end. be that changes on saturday. as cu is playing for a spot in the pack 12 title game. win and they are in. win and the buffs will saturday, also senior day. unlike years past, there will be more football for this senior class. >> they are not coming here for the last game. they are coming to see if they can go to levi stadium. it is a whole different mentality. so, to me, it is definitely a sendoff. but it is not an endoff. so, that makes it even more special. >> levi stadium the site of the pack 12 championship and a bowl

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,, ,, ,, >> the squeaky bean restaurant teamed up with local organizations to make sure nobody in denver went without a meal. we were there as volunteers packed up the traditional turkey and fixings. they will deliver it to housing

anyone who wants them. by the end of the day, they will have fed nearly 5300 people. fantastic. >> oh, start getting a little cold turkey out there tonight. a little chilly. check out debbie, one of our weather watchers in fort colorado congresswoman lints at 34 degrees out there tonight. high tomorrow looks pretty good. we will be about 58. 61 saturday. and then, gradually cooling off. next chance of snow tuesday. >> we will need it. s of christmas special, brought to you by cbs4 news. hello, i'm jim benemann. and i'm karen leigh. every year, cbs4 highlights some smaller non-profit organizations that are really making a big difference in our communities. for the next 30 minutes, we're gonna bring you some of those heartwarming stories, starting with a preschool that's letting

dave aguilera takes us inside the anchor center for blind children. (tinkling bells, "jingle bells" plays) christmas is a beautiful time, the family and friends, the sights and the sounds, but for children who are blind or visually impaired, part of the holiday is lost, that's where denver's anchor center for the blind comes in. ho, ho ho, ho. humm. mmm. world in different ways. (laughter) we can't just show 'em a picture or talk about santa, they have to experience him. thank you, muah. so, that means that they are feeling his suit, and they're putting their arms around him to feel how big he is, and they're feeling his boots and they're touching his beard and listening

ves of hundreds of families around colorado, and the world. what has the anchor center meant to you? gosh, it's really hard to put into words, dave. when connor was diagnosed, i think what flashes through your mind is all these things he won't be able to do, and so for us, the anchor center has really turned that on its head, anchor center gave us hope and taught our family to embrace the idea that he can do anything he wants to do. i like my classroom in the front. chor center is where he learned to jump and ride a bike, and where he painted and wrote his name. paula landry has a visually impaired daughter, and has been an anchor teacher for nine years. what makes your job here at the anchor center special? everything, it's a pretty, pretty remarkable place, we are fortunate enough to be able to work with a number of families