Colorado Department of Transportation workers killed in crash identified

The Mesa County Coroner's Office released the identities of the victims involved in a crash that included two Colorado Department of Transportation workers. 

Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol say that three people are dead after a vehicle collided with roadway workers and rolled over on Highway 6 on the Western Slope on Wednesday morning.

The individuals who died in the crash were CDOT workers 23-year-old Nathan Jones of Grand Junction and 43-year-old Trenton Umberger of Grand Junction and 67-year-old Kathi Wallace of Mesa County. 

"I can't say this enough, today is a tragic day in Colorado," said Colonel Matthew Packard, chief of Colorado State Patrol. "Two CDOT employees trying to do what they do make the state safer for people to travel in. And were out here serving the people of Colorado when they were killed."

Investigators believe the Jeep was off the highway surface when it ran into the workers. 

"The two CDOT workers that were at the scene were walking back towards their truck we believe when that Grand Cherokee collided with both them and the CDOT truck." 

Then the Jeep rolled, killing the wife of the driver. All three died on the scene. The driver of the Jeep was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released.

Investigators say at this point they do not believe the driver was impaired. But the investigation will continue. They will look at why the driver strayed off the road surface, including considering whether he may have been distracted. 

The CDOT truck hit had a large sign on the back. The workers were installing a sign on Highway 6, a two-lane road.

"All of these crashes are preventable," said Packard. "We really want to make sure people understand when you're driving a car you have to pay attention because it might not be your immediate family, but it's certainly our family that's out there doing this work every day. And families take care of each other. That's why we're both here today."

Packard had flown to the scene from the Denver area with Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

"The folks that are out there working on the road, that is their office and they're out there protecting the traveling public," said Lew. "When you see vehicles pulled over on the side of the road, please, please treat them like they're your own family. Drive slowly, move over and make it safe for them to be doing the work they do each and every day to keep the rest of us safe."

In recent years Colorado has gotten tougher on drivers who have hit CDOT workers, CSP officers and stalled motorists. The Move Over Law requires people driving highways to slow to 50 miles per hour around such workers and drivers. 

This year Colorado passed a law authorizing speed cameras that will ticket drivers who speed through work zones, but CDOT is still working on systems to implement the plan.

The crash led to extended lane closures along Highway 6. CSP said the CDOT workers hit were from Mesa County.

The Mesa County Coroner's Office will release the identities of those who died in the crash, while the details of what led up to the crash remain under investigation by CSP's Vehicular Crimes Unit.