COLORADO TRAGEDY in : 3 killed including 2 CDOT workers in highway crash, victims identified
State officials say they are heartbroken after two roadside workers were killed Wednesday while on the job.
CDOT transportation maintenance professionals Trent Umberger and Nathan Jones were both killed. Umberger began working for CDOT in 2017. Colorado State Patrol said he also supported Vail Pass patrol on I-70 during the winter time. Jones began working in 2022. he was part of CDOT’s maintenance apprenticeship program and was scheduled to be one of the first to complete the program in Dec. 2024.
“Our team is absolutely devastated to be here today,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew in a news conference addressing the tragedy.
The two Colorado Department of Transportation employees were doing maintenance operations on Highway 6 near milepost 40 just east of Grand Junction when State Patrol says an oncoming Jeep drifted off the road.
“The two CDOT workers that were at the scene were walking back towards their truck, we believe, when that Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with both them and that CDOT truck that was parked on that scene,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of Colorado State Patrol.
Both workers were killed, and the force of impact caused the Jeep to roll, killing the passenger.
In an update on Friday, Colorado State Patrol said the two CDOT employees’ truck was completely off of the road and their lights and sign board was activated. The employees were standing behind the truck with their vests on when they were hit.
“I can’t say this enough that today is a tragic day in Colorado,” Packard said.
State officials say they are heartbroken after two roadside workers were killed Wednesday while on the job.
CDOT transportation maintenance professionals Trent Umberger and Nathan Jones were both killed. Umberger began working for CDOT in 2017. Colorado State Patrol said he also supported Vail Pass patrol on I-70 during the winter time. Jones began working in 2022. he was part of CDOT’s maintenance apprenticeship program and was scheduled to be one of the first to complete the program in Dec. 2024.
“Our team is absolutely devastated to be here today,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew in a news conference addressing the tragedy.
The two Colorado Department of Transportation employees were doing maintenance operations on Highway 6 near milepost 40 just east of Grand Junction when State Patrol says an oncoming Jeep drifted off the road.
“The two CDOT workers that were at the scene were walking back towards their truck, we believe, when that Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with both them and that CDOT truck that was parked on that scene,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of Colorado State Patrol.
Both workers were killed, and the force of impact caused the Jeep to roll, killing the passenger.
In an update on Friday, Colorado State Patrol said the two CDOT employees’ truck was completely off of the road and their lights and sign board was activated. The employees were standing behind the truck with their vests on when they were hit.
“I can’t say this enough that today is a tragic day in Colorado,” Packard said.
