Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Crime Watch 10/09/25

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

By SAM KLOMHAUS Sam.Klomhaus@gjsentinel.com 

October 9, 2025

The man who was behind the wheel in a vehicle that killed three people, including two Colorado Department of Transportation workers, was sentenced to 30 years in the Department of Corrections on Thursday.

Patrick Sneddon, 60, pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide in August in relation to the crash that killed three people in September 2024.

CDOT workers Trent Umberger and Nathan Jones, and Kathi Wallace, who was Sneddon’s partner and a passenger in the car, were killed in the crash.

The crash occurred on U.S. Highway 6 near Palisade. Jones and Umberger had been walking back to their CDOT vehicle after doing work along the highway when they were struck by Sneddon’s vehicle that went off the roadway, according to the arrest affidavit.

Sneddon was arrested in December 2024 after an investigation by the Colorado State Patrol.

According to the arrest affidavit, Sneddon told police he had been looking at and talking to Wallace when he noticed he was off the roadway, saw Jones and Umberger, and attempted to swerve out of the way. He later told police he may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

It was later determined that Sneddon had THC in his system at the time of the crash.

Sneddon received 12 years each, served consecutively, for the deaths of Jones and Umberger, and six years for the death of Wallace.

“You are also receiving a punishment that is far more than I could impose, having ended the life of the one you identified as your soul mate,” Judge Jeremy Chaffin said when sentencing Sneddon.

Many family members of Jones and Umberger spoke at Thursday’s hearing about their grief and the troubles the crash had caused their families.

^{Patrick Sneddon}  

Nathan Jones’ sister, Wendy Jones, said Nathan was the heart of their family, and their home feels empty without him.

“This has been the hardest year of my life,” she said.

Umberger’s cousin, Brandon Umberger, read a statement on behalf of Nathan Umberger, Trent’s high school-aged son, who was away for a football game.

”My father, my inspiration and my guide through life, the person who loved me with his whole heart, was gone in seconds. To this day, all I think about is my father and what I can do to make him proud every day,” the statement read.

In his comments, Chaffin said it would be difficult to randomly select three people who were more loved in this community.

Sneddon, when given the opportunity to speak, apologized to the families.

“I just want to be able to tell the families that I’m really very very very sorry. It was never my intention to cause this accident or take their loved ones,” he said.”

“I do apologize. I’m very sorry.”

Sneddon also received an 18-month sentence for failing to exercise due care when approaching a stationary public utility vehicle resulting in death, a class-6 felony under Colorado’s Move Over Law, to be served concurrently with the other counts.

The prosecution had asked Chaffin for 10 years per each vehicular homicide charge.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Fisher said the evidence in the case pointed to Sneddon being conscious and in control of the vehicle at the time of the crash.

“The people are asking the court to impose a sentence that reflects that life is precious. Impose a sentence that reflects that life is priceless. We only get one,” Fisher said.

Public Defender Jennifer Gregory asked for 10 years in prison total.

Gregory noted that Wallace, although she didn’t have as much family in Mesa County, is also very sorely missed.

Gregory said she understood the need for punishment in the case, but a decision shouldn’t be made on sympathy for the victims alone.

Sneddon was cooperative with the investigation and his arrest, Gregory said.

Gregory said medical records indicate Sneddon may have had narcolepsy and firmly believes he would have tried to stop the crash if he was awake.

A long sentence won’t make the community safer, Gregory said.

Chaffin, a former prosecutor himself, said the District Attorney’s Office gave Sneddon leniency and that, although he doesn’t think most people who go to prison are better for it, prison is for people who have demonstrated they can’t be in society, and that includes Sneddon.

”Every day that you drove, Mr. Sneddon, you put the community at risk,” Chaffin said.

Gregory noted Sneddon’s age, saying a lengthy sentence could mean Sneddon would die in prison. Chaffin argued Sneddon’s sentence could be reduced with good behavior.

“Despite your age, I am confident you have the opportunity to be released, to have a life after being released,” Chaffin said. “That’s far more than any of the victims in this case.”