GOLDEN — Motorists in Colorado need to pay greater attention, slow down and drive with caution — lives are at stake.
That’s the message state troopers, highway workers and firefighters trumpeted Tuesday at a news conference in Golden after three state troopers were injured over the weekend in two traffic accidents.
“I’m glad we’re not here talking about funerals,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
Wolfinbarger said both accidents — one Friday on the Western Slope and the other Sunday in Arapahoe County — were close calls, and the troopers narrowly escaped injuries that could have been fatal.
Two of the three patrolmen suffered serious injuries.
In both incidents, the troopers were hit while responding to previous accidents on slick, icy roads.
“It’s very disturbing that these types of accidents are occurring,” said Stacey Stegman, a Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
About 8 p.m. Friday, Trooper Randy White was hit by a GMC Sierra pickup as he worked a traffic accident near Fruita on the Western Slope.
White, who was wearing a reflective vest, was investigating a crash on eastbound U.S. 6 when he was struck by a pickup driven by Tracy Conklin of Grand Junction.
In the crash Sunday on Interstate 225 near South Parker Road, two troopers — Ron Greasley and Jason Burger — stood behind a patrol cruiser, with overhead lights flashing, using it to separate them from traffic as a safety precaution as they responded to a single-car spinout.
A Ford Explorer spun out of control and slammed the cruiser, pushing it into both troopers, nearly crushing them against a concrete median barrier.
