The room Roman Parra left behind still looks much the way he left it.
His Bible remains on the coffee table at his home in Worland.
His truck still needs a suspension repair he never got to finish with his father.
And in the days since the 20-year-old former Worland athlete died from injuries suffered in a northern Colorado rollover crash, family members say those ordinary reminders have become priceless.
According to Colorado CBS News, Colorado State Patrol said Parra was critically injured July 25 when the Chevrolet Tahoe he was driving rolled on Weld County Road 80 near Eaton, ejecting all five occupants. Three Colorado passengers died at the scene. A fourth passenger survived with minor injuries. Parra remained hospitalized for eight days before dying Sunday.
Cowboy State Daily requested the official crash summary from the Colorado State Patrol but had not received the report before publication. However, The Denver Post reports that the State Patrol said that speed and impairment contributed to the crash, though a cause hasn’t yet been determined.
Now, those who knew Roman best say they hope he is remembered not for the crash but for the life he lived.
A Mother's Worst Call
Roman's mother, Alyssa McDonald, said Saturday had been an ordinary summer day.
She had taken Roman's younger sister to the fair parade before returning home to surprise her oldest son by cleaning his bedroom.
Roman had driven to Colorado the night before for a concert with friends.
As she folded clothes and straightened his room, she expected him to walk back through the front door the next day.
Instead, at about 5:15 p.m., her phone buzzed.
The Life360 app she used to keep track of Roman showed a collision.
"I texted, called, panicked when I saw there was no movement," said McDonald.
She hoped his phone had simply fallen to the floor or been tossed across the vehicle.
When the location never changed, she called police and waited.
Nearly two hours later, the hospital called.
"They told me there had been a bad accident and my son was involved," she said. "Three had passed away at the scene, but Roman had survived."
Doctors rushed him into emergency brain surgery.
"The chance of him making it off the table was very unlikely," she said.
For over a week, his family remained by his bedside before Parra died.
Faith Before Football
Long before he became one of Wyoming's top linebackers, Parra was the little boy who wanted one thing more than anything else.
"He just never wanted to let me down," McDonald said.
His faith grew naturally alongside him, she added.
As a second-grader, teachers noticed he signed the bottom of school assignments with the words "God is Good."
Near graduation, one of his teachers asked what he wanted to do with his life.
"My first priority is my relationship with Christ," he replied, according to his mother.
Looking back, McDonald said she believes that answer explained the way he lived.
"I think that was probably his purpose in life — to spread that kindness, that joy and Christ's love," she said.
His aunt, Daniela Parra, saw the same thing.
If someone challenged Roman's beliefs, she said, he didn't argue emotionally.
"He would fight for God all the time," she said. "If somebody said something, he could back it up with Scripture."
Competitor On Every Field
In his final high school football game in the fall of 2024, McDonald said Parra tore his meniscus.
Coaches wanted to pull him from the game.
He refused.
He finished the game and scored the final touchdown of his high school career.
In the spring of 2025, he again played through the same injury during the state soccer tournament because he didn't want to leave his teammates behind.
When football ended, Roman spent the summer working construction alongside his father while preparing to attend Laramie County Community College this fall to study automotive technology.
Asked what his son had taught him over the past 20 years, Armando Parra paused.
"He taught me peace and patience," he said. "As much as you raise a kid, a kid raises you."
He credits Roman with helping him become a better man.
"He changed my life," Armando said.
'He Was That Loved'
The waiting room rarely emptied during Parra's eight days in the hospital.
Friends drove from Cheyenne after work.
Football families stopped in.
Strangers from Eaton, Colorado, brought food, water and supplies.
One mother loaned the family a wagon so they could haul meals through the hospital.
For Daniela, none of it came as a surprise.
"I expected it," she said. "He was that loved."
She remembers her nephew as the young man who encouraged everyone around him.
His father said Roman never limited his friendships to teammates.
"He was friends with everybody," Armando said. "He fit in everywhere. He talked to everybody."
The Parra family has established a GoFundMe to help cover Roman's medical and funeral expenses.
Armando also asked for prayers for the lone survivor of the crash, saying he believes the young man now faces an unimaginable burden.
"I feel worse for him than I feel for anybody," he said. "That poor boy that has to live through this is going to need more guidance than anybody I know."
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
