The driver of a SUV was killed and a highway worker injured today on Interstate 70 near Evergreen when the pickup veered into a coned-off construction zone, slamming into parked trucks.

Eastbound I-70 traffic at the Soda Creek exit was backed up for several hours after the 11:05 a.m. crash, said Colorado Master Trooper Ron Watkins.

All lanes of traffic near the accident scene had reopened by midafternoon.

The accident occurred as the left eastbound lane was coned-off to protect construction vehicles and workers preparing to install a guard rail.

A Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo traveling eastbound in the far right lane "for unknown reasons crossed all traffic through the cone pattern," striking a highway truck with a sign directing traffic around the construction zone, Watkins said.

The contract highway worker doing paperwork in the cab of the sign truck was thrown head-first into the windshield b the impact. The sign truck then struck another construction vehicle parked ahead of it.

The unidentified driver of the Laredo died at the scene. The construction worker was taken to a local hospital. The name and condition of the worker, who was employed by Rocky Mountain Signage, was not immediately known.

gathrighta@RockyMountainNews.com

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