Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

An unattended Mazda pickup rolls off Red Mountain Pass

An unoccupied vehicle rolled off the edge of Red Mountain Pass and plunged 250 feet off the mountainside. This webcam is near the top of the pass looking north.

The Colorado Department of Transportation will close U.S. Highway 550, starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, to remove a vehicle that plunged into the Uncompahgre River canyon Friday.

An unattended 2000 Mazda pickup was the third vehicle since February to go over the side at almost the same point, mile post 89.

A Cadillac Escalade containing the body of a visiting Danish man missing since Feb. 4 was recovered Feb. 19. An 18-year-old Texas man driving a 2005 Ford F-150 from El Paso to Grand Junction was killed when his vehicle ran off the highway in mid-April.

U.S. Highway 550 will be closed at mile marker 88.6 and mile marker 89 on Wednesday to allow recovery of the Mazda.

If a truck with a rotating boom can operate from one lane, the other lane will be open for traffic, CDOT communications manager Nancy Shanks said Tuesday.

But don’t count on it, she said. The best way to stay informed, Shanks said, is to visit www.cotrip.org for real-time information.

If the highway is closed, the extraction of the Mazda will take several hours, Shanks said.

The Mazda was left unattended in a dirt pull-off. It began to roll and traveled 138 feet before going over the edge. It remained lodged about 250 feet below the highway.

Shanks didn’t have the name of the driver or know why he or she left the vehicle without setting the emergency brake. No one from the Colorado State Patrol was immediately available for comment.

The owner of the car or an insurance company is responsible for the cost of extricating the Mazda, Shanks said.

daler@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments