Overview

• The pickup left U.S. 550 between mile markers 88 and 89 shortly after noon Thursday on the north side of Red Mountain Pass.
• Ouray-based first responders requested the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, which used a technical rope system to haul the driver up from the Uncompahgre Gorge.
• The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office said southbound U.S. 550 was closed for about two hours during the rescue.
• Rescue officials reported the driver was the only occupant and suffered minor injuries, with the wreckage found near the Uncompahgre River below the highway.
• The corridor has seen repeated serious crashes this year, CSP counts 13 crashes on the 13-mile stretch, and a guardrail farther south recently prevented an estimated 800-foot fall.