Colorado driver walks away from dangerous 300-foot highway crash with minor injuries: 'A miracle'
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A driver remarkably emerged with only minor injuries after their vehicle plummeted 300 feet off a Colorado highway, officials confirmed.

The incident occurred on October 9 along U.S. Highway 550 in Ouray, as reported by the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team in a Facebook statement.

At approximately 12:20 p.m., emergency crews responded to a call about a pickup truck that had fallen into the Uncompahgre River Gorge from the highway.

Teams from Ouray County EMS, the Ouray Volunteer Fire Department, and the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team collaborated to create a rope system, allowing rescuers to safely descend to the crash site and reach the vehicle’s sole occupant.

crumpled wreckage of the pickup truck on the side of the mountain

The dramatic accident involved a pickup truck that veered off U.S. Highway 550 on Thursday, October 9, in Ouray, Colorado, plunging 300 feet. (Image courtesy of Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, Inc.)

Officials said the driver sustained minor injuries. 

The rescue team shared photos of the mangled vehicle and the driver walking up the steep ledge with assistance from a rescuer to return to the highway.

Driver and rescuer walking up ledge

Rescuers said the driver walked away from the wreck with only minor injuries. (Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, Inc. )

“Glad he’s not hurt very bad,” one person wrote in response to the rescue team’s post on Facebook. “Time to buy a lottery ticket.”

“Minor injuries after this? WOW! Seems like a miracle,” another wrote.

rescuers on the highway performing a technical rope rescue

Rescuers set up a technical rope system to rappel down to the driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle. (Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, Inc. )

U.S. Highway 550, known as the “Million Dollar Highway,” is “a scenic and treacherous mountain road” that is popular among adventure seekers, road trippers and outdoor enthusiasts, according to the town of Ouray’s tourism webpage.

The 25-mile stretch of roadway, however, has earned a reputation as one of the “most dangerous roads in America” due to narrow lanes, sharp turns and lack of a guardrail between the roadway and steep ledge, the site says.

“Though it is labeled as one of the most dangerous roads in the United States, if you stick to the speed limit, stay within the lines, and be aware of your surroundings you will travel just fine,” the page reads. “Campers, Semi-Trucks, and trucks with trailers travel this road frequently.”

The highway was the site of two fatal crashes over the summer, local outlet KKTV reported.

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