PALISADE, Colo. (KREX) – A horrifying crash just after 10:30 Wednesday morning closed a major thoroughfare between Clifton and Palisade. Three people were killed including two Colorado Department of Transportation employees.
Colonel Matthew Packard of the Colorado State Patrol, explains, “Today, I can’t say this enough that today is a tragic day in Colorado. Certainly, here in the local community in Mesa County outside of Clifton. This is one of the hardest things that we do in this profession, is investigate loss of life. and today, three people were killed.”
Shoshana Lew, executive director for the Colorado Department of Transportation, explains, “Our team is devastated to be here today honoring the lives of two of our friends and family members from our organization who lost their lives today in this tragic incident.”
It was at 10:42 a.m., and agencies including the Colorado State Patrol responded to a report of a crash on Highway 6 near milepost 40. A driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee struck two CDOT workers and their work vehicle which caused the Jeep to roll.
Packard states, “Our two CDOT employees that were doing what they do every day trying to make the state safer for people to travel in and were out here serving the people of Colorado when they were killed. Of course, the driver of the other vehicle lost his loved one today.”
The passenger of the Jeep Cherokee was also killed in the crash. The driver survived and was taken to an area hospital. Investigators are not able to determine the cause due to it being to early into the investigation.
“I think the takeaway today is that three people lost their lives. Any time that happens, it’s heartbreaking and tragic, and today is no exception to that and my heart goes out to our friends at CDOT who, every day, our troopers work side by side with our CDOT partners all across the state,” Packard explains.
The identities of the victims have not been released yet. The information will be released by the Mesa County Coroner’s office. The crash is still under investigation.
The family of Trent Umberger has started a GoFundMe page, you can find the link here if you’d like to donate to the Umberger family.
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