LONGMONT, Colo. -- Grief counselors will be made available next week at four schools in the St. Vrain Valley district after the death of a well-known teacher at Heritage Middle School in Longmont.

Thirty-nine-year-old special-education teacher and kung fu instructor Lance Melting died Monday in a 70-vehicle pileup on Interstate 70 west of Frisco. He and his family were on their way to Disneyland for spring break.

Melting was driving the family minivan when it slid under the trailer after the semi jack-knifed, the State Patrol reported.

Melting's wife, Jamie, was seriously injured and remains hospitalized at St. Anthony Central in Denver. She is a fourth-grade teacher at Rocky Mountain Elementary School.

The couple's four children, who attend Altona Middle School and Rocky Mountain Elementary School, were not hurt, and are now in the care of relatives.

Melting would have turned 40 on Friday.

In addition to Melting's death, at least 22 people were injured in the chain-reaction crash which closed the interstate for eight hours. It remained under investigation Thursday.

The grief counselors will be available when students return from Spring break Monday.