One Colorado Department of Transportation worker was killed and another was seriously injured this morning when a semi tractor-trailer truck crashed into a construction zone in southern Colorado.
Charles Mather, 34, of Buelah, was killed. His wife is due to give birth to his first child in October, said Stacey Stegman, CDOT spokeswoman.
The semi driver, whose name has not been released, and two people in a pickup truck were also injured when the rig struck the back of the pickup 25 miles south of Pueblo on Interstate 25 at 10:43 a.m. just before crossing a construction barricade, officials say.
The second CDOT worker, a 48-year-old man with one year of experience with CDOT, broke his leg when he jumped off a bridge to avoid the collision, Stegman said.
“This is another needless tragedy on Colorado’s highways,” said Bob Torres, CDOT region director. “These crashes are preventable if drivers would just slow down and use extra caution when driving near highway workers. The people working on our roadways are mothers, fathers, brothers and friends. Today, is a very sad day knowing that an unborn child will never know its father.”
The semi was northbound on I-25 when it hit the pickup, crossed a cone barricade and smashed into a large rotomilling machine used to resurface asphalt, said Tina Schaffer, spokeswoman for the Colorado State Patrol.
The machine caught on fire as the semi spilled two thirds of its load of rocks, Schaffer said.
Mather, who has one year experience, was severely burned during the collision, Stegman said. He was taken to St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo where he was pronounced dead, she said.
“It’s quite a big mess,” Schaffer said.
The highway was temporarily closed while a hazardous materials team cleaned up a diesel spill caused by the collision, she said.
Two CDOT workers were killed in Adams County on June 4, 2004 when a drunken April Garcia drove the wrong way on I-25 and ran into them.
Eladio Lopez, 50, and Paul Forster, 43, died in the accident. Garcia is serving a 24-year prison term.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
