'Please Pay Attention': Stepdaughter Helps Launch Work Zone Awareness Week
DENVER (CBS4) - The stepdaughter of a Colorado Department of Transportation worker killed by a driver asked the public to stay focused on the road and not turn your vehicle into a weapon. Her words on Monday came a little more than a year after his death.
"We take driving for granted," said Tonya Hamilton, the stepdaughter of Nolan Olson. "Driving is a privilege, and we must be responsible with our vehicles and what we do with them and in them."
Olson was filling potholes on U.S. Hwy 160 in Pagosa Springs when a vehicle passing by hit him. He later died from his injuries.
"Nolan was a dedicated CDOT employee. He took it very personal," she told CBS4. "He loved to plow snow in the winter. He took it very seriously. He wanted everybody to make it to their destination."
CDOT and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched a new safety program on Monday as part of Work Zone Awareness Week. Hamilton was a speaker at the event announcing the new effort by state leaders.
"Please pay attention, please put your phone down, there is too much going on, on the roadways," Hamilton said. "We need to pay attention and we need to protect those who are out there protecting us, we owe it to them."
CDOT says lost-cost steps like adding more rumble strips or six-inch striping can be more effective. The program will also try to increase education of the "Move Over" law and designated passing lanes. Traffic deaths were down slightly last year, but from 2010 to 2018, the number is up 40 percent.
Hamilton says seeing Olson's name on the memorial for CDOT employees is bittersweet. They are still mourning his loss but want his life to serve as a lesson for others.
"He was an incredible man. He was a family man," she said.
