Colorado State Patrol, coroner release names of 3 people killed in car crash near Palisade
The names of three people killed in crash near Palisade on Wednesday were released to the public on Thursday by Colorado State Patrol and the Mesa County Coroner’s Office.
According to Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard, an investigation into the wreck is ongoing after the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee — who officials have not named — struck two CDOT employees in the right shoulder lane who were “performing maintenance operations.”
The driver, who was heading westbound on Highway 6 near mile point 40, also hit a CDOT vehicle parked in the shoulder lane. Both CDOT workers and the driver’s spouse, an adult woman who was in the passenger seat, died at the scene.
In a news release Thursday night, officials identified the three individuals as:
- Trent Umberger, a CDOT maintainer who was hired in March 2017 and who worked in Grand Junction. Umberger supported the Vail Pass patrol on the I-70 corridor during the winters as part of the joint operations team.
- Nathan Jones, a CDOT maintainer who was hired in December 2022 and who also worked in Grand Junction. Jones was in the CDOT Maintenance Apprenticeship Program and was on schedule to be one of the first to complete the program in December 2024.
- Kathi Ann Wallace, the passenger in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the driver’s spouse, who was from Grand Junction.
“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,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew in a statement. “We are devastated to lose them, and their families and friends are in all of our hearts during this difficult time.”
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Since 1929, 64 CDOT workers have died on the job, including the two employees killed Wednesday.
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, Sept. 9, in remembrance of Umberger and Jones.
“My heart goes out to the families of Trent Umberger and Nathan Jones, two dedicated maintainers with the Colorado Department of Transportation, as well as passenger Kathi Wallace, who lost their lives yesterday,” Polis said in a statement. “This is a terrible tragedy, and while words won’t relieve the pain of this moment for their loved ones, know that the state of Colorado mourns alongside them.”
An initial investigation by the state patrol’s vehicular crimes unit does not show signs that the driver was impaired, Packard said during a press conference Wednesday. Investigators also haven’t determined if excessive speed in the 50 mph speed limit zone was a factor.
“The No.1 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,” Packard said.
Packard said his office is working quickly to deliver its findings to the district attorney’s office.
