A pickup truck driver took a 300-foot plunge from Colorado’s “Million Dollar Highway” last week, walking away with minor injuries after a technical rope rescue.
The truck went off U.S. Highway 550 on Red Mountain Pass’s north side shortly following noon on Oct. 9, according to CBS Colorado. The rescue team said the incident took place between mile markers 88 and 89, the same area where three people have died this year.
First responders in Ouray recruited the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team (OMRT) to transport the driver from the canyon floor to the highway. The OMRT, Ouray County EMS and Ouray Volunteer Fire Department conducted a technical rope rescue, the OMRT said in a Facebook post.
The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Highway Patrol supported the operation. (RELATED: Top Audi Executive Reportedly Falls To His Death In Mountain Climbing Accident)
Two adult New Mexico residents died Aug. 5 from a 320-foot fall at Marker 88, though a girl survived the incident, CBS Colorado reported. Three miles away and two days after, a 78-year-old female lived following a roll from the highway, while a 65-year-old woman died Aug. 23 after her motorcycle fell down the canyon in between where the other two incidents took place.
The incident occurred in a section without guardrails, CBS Colorado reported. Snow plows reportedly require the open edge to force off massive piles of snow that build up there every winter. The Colorado State Patrol recorded 13 crashes on the 13-mile stretch of U.S. 550 from Ouray to the San Juan/San Miguel county line in the vicinity of the pass’s summit.
The “Million Dollar Highway” runs 25 miles from Ouray to Silverton in Colorado’s southwest, according to the City of Ouray’s visitor website. The highway climbs over 11,000 feet at Red Mountain Pass.
The site described the stretch of highway as a “treacherous mountain road that runs through the San Juan Mountains.” The road’s tight turns, narrow lanes and high cliffs have established a reputation as one of the country’s most dangerous roadways.