A crash Wednesday morning near Mount Garfield Middle School resulted in the deaths of three people — two Colorado Department of Transportation employees and the passenger in the vehicle involved in the accident.
The Colorado State Patrol responded to the crash, which happened at 10:42 a.m., on westbound U.S. Highway 6 near Mount Garfield Middle School. No one from the school was involved in the crash.
I’m heartbroken by this horrible accident and my thoughts are with the families of the individuals, CDOT, and the communities. 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,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday.
U.S. 6 was closed after the crash until 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
According to a CSP news release, the initial investigations show the crash involved a Jeep Grand Cherokee that struck the two CDOT employees working outside of their vehicle, and then struck a parked CDOT vehicle.
The CDOT vehicle was parked off the road to the right side of the fog line, the release said.
Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard said Wednesday the CDOT employees were walking back to their vehicle, and were not within the roadway when the vehicle struck them.
Packard said after an initial investigation CSP does not suspect impairment as a factor in the crash.
The No. 1 causal factor for crashes in this area of the state are lane violations, and I think at the top level, a lane violation is what caused this crash, because the Jeep traveled outside of their lane,” Packard said. “Specifically as to why, whether that was distracted or some other thing, that’s what the investigation will help us discover.”
The driver of the Jeep, an adult male, was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries and then released. The other occupant of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. The two CDOT workers were also pronounced dead at the scene.
Packard said notification of next of kin of the victims is ongoing, and so the names of the deceased have not been released. Both the driver and passenger of the Jeep were local residents.
CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said the crash was “a devastating heartbreak for all of us.”
Folks who are out there working on the road, that is their office and they are out there protecting the traveling public,” Lew said. “For those folks watching today, when you see vehicles pulled over on the side of the road, doing the public’s work, please, please treat them like they were your own family.”
Colorado law requires motorists to slow down to at least 20 miles per hour under the posted speed limit or move over a lane when encountering a disabled vehicle, and includes special protections for CDOT workers.
Drivers who fail to slow down or move over can face a penalty of up to 18 months in prison and a $100,000 fine if the crash results in serious injury or death.
The American Automobile Association recommends drivers remain alert and watch for people on the roadside, and that stranded people pull over as far from the roadside as possible.
