Motorist saved after plunging over cliff on Red Mountain Pass

OURAY COUNTY, Colo. (KKCO) - Rescue workers were able to save a male motorist after he plunged over a cliff on Red Mountain Pass early Thursday morning.

“In what had to have been a grueling and terrifying event, the passenger spent hours yelling for help while he and his vehicle lay in the river hundreds of feet below the road,” wrote the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) on Facebook.

Authorities say that a local CDOT driver, Dack Klein, came across the debris field and heard the cries for help.

Rescue personnel was then called to the scene, where they were able to extract the man from the creek below.

“We’d also like to extend a big shout out to our local Ouray firefighter, Adam Kunz, for his quick actions in making his way to the motorist and communicating between them and rescue personnel,” wrote the OCSO.

The Ouray Volunteer Fire Department, Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, Inc., Colorado State Patrol, Ouray County Emergency Medical Services, Ouray Police Department, Colorado Department of Transportation, CareFlight of Montrose, and the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office all took part in the rescue operation.

The man was flown to the Montrose Memorial Hospital via Careflight, and his condition is unknown at this time.

More pictures of the rescue can be found in the Facebook post below.

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