CSP trooper describes "close call" after driver plows into his patrol vehicle while investigating wreck
Nine months after becoming a trooper, Cameron Gill had a close call while investigating a wreck on C470 near Santa Fe.
"I hear skid marks and then the rear of my vehicle was collided by another vehicle that was attempting to pass," he said.
He was already out of his car, luckily, and was OK, but in other cases, troopers or Colorado Department of Transportation workers have been injured or killed doing their jobs.
"It's causing a fear of employees to be on the road," said CDOT's deputy director of operations Bob Fifer.
In the past week, two CSP cars and a CDOT vehicle have been hit on the road.
Friday night, around 11 p.m. a CDOT snow plow was involved in a multi-vehicle crash on I-70 near Bakerville.
CDOT says no injuries were reported and damage to the plow was minimal, but the interstate was closed while the crash was cleared.
Friday CDOT and Colorado State Patrol held a press conference to remind the public they need every motorist to help keep them safe.
"You are not alone, just being in that bubble. You are part of a system and make sure you are creating a safe environment like we are trying to do," Fifer said.
They want people to ditch the distractions like cell phones and slow down or move over when you see CDOT or CSP investigating an accident.
CDOT also wants to remind people that they should give plows room when they are treating a road.
"I can't emphasize enough the danger that these crashes pose," said Colorado State Patrol major, Darce Weil.
It's a lesson that was re-emphasized for trooper Gill when his car was hit on the highway.
"It's definitely jaw-dropping and it opens up a whole new perspective," he said.
He hopes it never happens again.
"I'm more conscious about my driving and my personal driving and let alone when I'm driving a patrol car and when I'm on scene of something on the side of the highway I'm way more conscious," he said.
