PALISADE, Colo. — A crash Wednesday morning on the Western Slope killed three people, including two Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) employees, the Colorado State Patrol CSP said.
CSP troopers said the crash happened around 10:40 a.m. on westbound Highway 6 near milepost 40, between Palisade and Grand Junction.
Troopers said the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee hit two CDOT workers who were doing maintenance work on the side of the highway outside of their vehicle. The Jeep then hit the parked CDOT vehicle and rolled.
Both workers were killed in the crash. One person in the Jeep also died at the scene.
On Thursday, the Mesa County coroner's office identified the workers as 23-year-old Nathan Jones and 43-year-old Trenton Umberger, both of Grand Junction. The Jeep passenger was identified as 67-year-old Kathi Wallace.
Jones was hired as a CDOT maintenance apprentice in December 2022. He was on track to complete the apprenticeship in December and would have been one of the first to complete it.
Umberger had worked as a transportation maintenance profession with CDOT wince March 2017.
The only person involved who made it out alive was the driver, who was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released.
Troopers said the CDOT vehicle was parked off the road, to the right side of the fog line. They said they are still investigating what caused this crash, but confirmed the driver was not in the lane they were supposed to be in, and that impairment is not suspected at this time.
The Mesa County District Attorney's Office is now evaluating potential criminal charges because Move Over law violations elevate to a felony if they result in death.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying the two CDOT workers were fixing a road sign when they were hit.
"I’m heartbroken by this horrible accident, and my thoughts are with the families of the individuals, CDOT and the communities," Polis said. "These Coloradans will be missed by their state, families, and communities. I speak for the entire state when I say that they will be missed.”
AAA Colorado reports that roadside professions are 15 times more dangerous than every other private industry combined. The Move Over law is designed to protect people working by the roadside, such as the two CDOT employees involved in Wednesday's incident. Since the law was expanded last year to include all vehicles stopped on the side of the road, AAA Colorado data shows it has been effective in increasing citations and decreasing fatal and injury-causing incidents.
"It's fairly good news that there has not been a serious tragedy of this scale in the year since the law passed. But today's events made clear that's not enough," said Skyler McKinley, the regional director of AAA. "It's really incumbent on drivers to know that's the law and that it's the right thing to do."
McKinley emphasized that the effectiveness of laws depends on people's willingness to comply. He is urging people to consider if their loved ones were on the side of the road.
Helpful tips AAA Colorado gives for drivers are:
- Emergencies can occur anywhere on the road. When you see flashing lights of any color, slow down and prepare well in advance to change lanes. Allow others to merge into your lane when necessary.
- If you are unable to move at least one lane away from the stationary vehicle, you must slow down to at least 25 miles per hour on roadways with a speed limit below 45 miles per hour. On roadways with speed limits 45 miles per hour or more, you must slow down to 20 miles per hour less than the speed limit.
- Give yourself extra space when following semi-trucks or large vehicles. If a truck moves into a left-hand lane, don't speed around the right side. They are changing lanes for a reason. Be prepared to change lanes yourself.
- When road conditions are slick, don't make sudden lane changes that can cause an uncontrollable skid. Change lanes early and move over gradually.
- Be a good passenger. Help identify roadway issues and remind the driver to slow down and move over.
- Watch for people on the roadside. People may be in or near a disabled vehicle. Just because you don't immediately see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
