State officials released the names of the two Colorado Department of Transportation workers and a passenger killed after the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed on U.S. 6 near Palisade on Wednesday.
Trent Umberger and Nate Jones were transportation maintenance professionals who worked in Grand Junction, the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release Thursday.
Umberger and Jones were fixing a sign on the side of U.S. 6 between Palisade and Clifton in Mesa County when the Jeep driver struck them and their parked vehicle before rolling. Umberger and Jones died at the scene.
A passenger in the Jeep, Kathi Ann Wallace of Grand Junction, also died at the scene.
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Wallace was the wife of the Jeep driver, who was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital, according to Denver7. Investigators do not believe impairment was a factor in the crash.
Umberger was hired at CDOT in 2017 and also worked on a joint operations team that covered Vail Pass during the winter, state officials said Thursday. Jones began working at CDOT in 2022 and was set to become one of the first people to complete the agency’s maintenance apprenticeship program.
“Trent and Nate were beloved members of CDOT region 3, section 2 — remembered by their teammates as dedicated to their families and the traveling public and always willing to lend a hand to keep others safe,” CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said in a statement.
Colorado State Patrol troopers are still investigating the crash, agency head Col. Matthew Packard said in a statement.
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