I’m seeing a trend. We’ve had a rash of fatal collisions in the past three weeks related to the repair of potholes. Our Google feed is sending two reports of fatal accident per week right now. It is extremely unfortunate that our public servants have to risk their lives, just to make the roads we drive on a little smoother. Here, we lost a state DOT worker, Nolan Olson (rest in peace), who was just doing his civic duty to make the roads more comfortable for all of us.
The risks are real and the tragedies continue. At PSS, we are dedicated to making you fleet and employees safer. This is a big issue and we’re anxious to get started on building a comprehensive safety program focused on safe pothole repair. It will include policies, procedures, a web-based educational course, skills-based training materials, posters, reminders and micro-learning (safety tune ups) that will reduce the risks associated with repairing potholes. It’s urgent that we get started now so we can have it in place before next year’s weather breaks. Won’t you join us? If you have content, ideas or would like to be on the design team, please contact me personally at mgardner@avatarms.com.
Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) employee, Nolan Olson, 64, died today from injuries sustained in a Feb. 2 accident.
“On Friday February 2nd at about 11:30 am, two Colorado Department of Transportation workers had a CDOT truck parked on the south side of Highway 160 near milepost 140.4,” reads a press release from Pagosa Springs Manager Andrea Phillips. “One of the male CDOT employee’s was standing in the acceleration lane filling potholes.”
The press release goes on to explain that a vehicle was heading eastbound on U.S. 160 and then drifted into the acceleration lane, striking Olson with the right front bumper of his vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as 83-year-old Jerry Modisette, of Pagosa Springs. He was cited with careless driving causing bodily injury.
Olson was flown to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood shortly after the accident where he was in critical condition, on a ventilator and unresponsive.
On Feb. 8 Olson’s stepdaughter, Tonya Hamilton, wrote an entry on Caring Bridge, “Tonight, I write this with a very somber heart. We received the results of the MRI today and it showed the damage to Nolan’s brain was beyond repair, and beyond healing. Right now, machines are keeping his physical body alive, and the Nolan that we all knew and loved is no longer with us.
“We would like to send a message of love to all those friends out there, and even folks that didn’t know him, that have been praying for him. Those thoughts and prayers, we believe, helped Nolan move from this world to the next… wherever and whatever that looks like for Nolan, he is not in pain; he is not suffering.
“We recognize that there will be many this evening and in the days to come who agonize over this; who will be saddened to the core. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, who have traveled on this journey with us.
“We will all miss Nolan, deeply.”
A Gofundme page has been created by Billy and Carah McDermott, and can be found at www.gofundme.com/go-nolan.
