Jeep falls; 200 feet down cliff; two dead

[Ralph]

The Denver Post, Wednesday, 7/28/04, p. 2B:

"Two people were killed Tuesday afternoon when a Jeep with Missouri plates left the road on Black Bear Pass and tumbled down a cliff, authorities said.

"The accident occured about 4 p.m. in unincorporated San Miguel County. In heavy rain, the Jeep, heading west, was negotiating steep switchbacks down the mountain when it left the road and rolled at least 200 yards down the side of the mountain, said San Miguel sheriff's Sgt. Michael Westcott.

Colorado State Patrol officials were investigating the crash late Tuesday and did not identify the dead male and female, pending completion of the investigation and family notification. The vicitms have a large extended family on the Front Range, officials said."

[turtlejoe]

Terrible news Ralph. Keep us informed ... :(

[roadgrime]

dang...

[billyrb]

does anyone know if it was an IFSJA member? That is sad to hear.

[FSJ Thing]

Originally posted by billyrb:
does anyone know if it was an IFSJA member? That is sad to hear.Not likely a member. We don't have many down that way but baby Jeeps are everywhere. That is sad. :(

[Jeepstress]

God that's horrifying. That is exactly the reason I won't run black bear. I know it's not a techically challenging trail, but it is a trail that has no mercy. One wrong step and you are in serious trouble. My heart goes out to the victims and their family..... :(

[badaboom]

So Sad. :(

Headline reads 200 ft. article reads 200 yards.
I don't think it was a question of inches.

[ July 28, 2004, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: badaboom ]

[flatbackdragon]

story in tellurides' newspaper at
www.telluridegateway.com (http://www.telluridegateway.com)
click news, then, more of this story, for the info...

[Jeepstress]

they weren't wearing seatbelts..... I suddenly feel less sorry for them. Unfortunatly they are both old enough to have spawned. Perhaps their kids will be smarter than they were.

[roadgrime]

i think in the grand scheme of things even with seatbelts they wouldnt have survived. soft top no roll cage and 900 feet. i doubt you can build a functional roll cage that would withstand that. which then leaves you with ..."Luck" it is sad to see that hapen to anyone and yea they shoulda been wearing seatbelts.

one of the interesting things i found in the article was they said blank bear is considered one of the most dangerous but fatalities are rare and this is the only one in recent memory.

tie that with what the guide books say "constant focused attention on the trail is required" and you have a recipe for success. change just a bit and tradgedy strikes.

ok i am rambling and bored so i will **** up now!

[Jeepstress]

This kind of thing makes me grateful that I have 5000 pounds of steel surrounding me (plus my seatbelt). Seatbelts may have made a difference but we will never know...

[Don S]

..

... I have videos of our WJ sliding down the stairs when the rock was dry so I can imagine how it would be when it was wet. They must have been going fast and lost control when they hit the gravel below the big rock. The stairs are similar to the shelf (middle path) on Poughkeepsie Gulch for those of you that have done it.
http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2004/07/28/news/top_stories/news01.txt
Though Black Bear Pass road is in places exceedingly steep and narrow, especially in a pitched rock section above Ingram Falls referred to as "The Stairs," fatal car accidents on it are rare, and there has not been a fatality in recent memory, police said.
Have a good one and CUL Don S..

[keej]

Wow, what a sh_tty thing to say... These friends of mine where the type to yell at people on trails for not wearing their seatbelts and I highly doubt they where doing that kind of trail without them on. They where the type that when we where trail guiding together would constantly remind people to buckle up. The only thing we can think of is that they knew they where in trouble and was trying to bail out, but we'll never know. They where great people and will be missed....

Originally posted by Jeepstress:
they weren't wearing seatbelts..... I suddenly feel less sorry for them. Unfortunatly they are both old enough to have spawned. Perhaps their kids will be smarter than they were.

[Jeepstress]

Keej, that was insensetive of me to say. I simply spoke in anger. I see lots of people wheeling without seatbelts (among doing other stupid things on the trail) and it gets me fired up that they are knowingly putting thier lives at risk doing an activity that can be dangerous. I am deeply sorry that you lost your friends. And I'm quite sure you realize that statement was not personally directed at you and your loss. It's easy to criticize people you don't know. But if they had been my friends I would still be angry at them for not being belted. Perhaps they were bailing out. As you said, we will never know. I am sincerely sorry that I hurt your feelings. It was not intended to do so and simply a thoughtless outburst.

[keej]

I understand and thank you...

That's one of the things that was angering us about the local news was the emphasis of them not wearing their seatbelts, like it would have really made a difference in a 800ft fall. Good Jeepers where lost, and hopefully nothing like this happens again anytime soon.

[J10/J20 Project]

.

[wagonman83]

does anyone have pics of this Black Bear pass?

[viscacha]

Here's a rainy pic as we came by from Imogene. The other pic was a couple weeks prior and posted by someone else.

http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/blackbear101.jpg

http://www.dakotacom.net/~jeepster/blackbear102.jpg

[turtlejoe]

Originally posted by wagonman83:
does anyone have pics of this Black Bear pass?Here's a post that has a picture of Flint heading down - I think it's the 4th pic and posted by Flint. http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=000075

Take a search for "Black Bear Pass" on the web and see what you find. I don't think you'll find too many pictures on the road itself, as there just aren't opportunities to be taking pictures. From what I understand, both driver and passenger need to be working most of the time.

[Don S]

Originally posted by turtlejoe:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by wagonman83:
does anyone have pics of this Black Bear pass?Here's a post that has a picture of Flint heading down - I think it's the 4th pic and posted by Flint. http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=15;t=000075

Take a search for "Black Bear Pass" on the web and see what you find. I don't think you'll find too many pictures on the road itself, as there just aren't opportunities to be taking pictures. From what I understand, both driver and passenger need to be working most of the time.</font>[/QUOTE]..
Kerry;

... Doris and I have a one hour video of Black Bear shot as we drove along in our 76 Wagoneer Plus a little more of doing it in her WJ.

Have a good one ;) and CUL Don S..

[keej]

The family got the pictures developed from the camera that was in their Jeep and sent them to someone in our club so that we could publish them. Here's the pictures from their vacation up until the point of the accident:
Allen and Sue's Colorado Pictures (http://community.webshots.com/scripts/show.fcgi?t=slideshow&ID=177058266&key=RCyAPR)

There's some beautiful pictures in here and some great ones of them...

[Justin Kerns]

Man looks like pictures from many of my trail rides. It could happen to anyone at any time...

Crazy

[fulsizjeep]

Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos with us Keej. What a loss... :(

[waskie]

Seatbelts were on in every photo. Sorry to hear of your loss.

[nsanebiker]

Keej,

May your friends be "Jeepin" in the great beyond. May all your and your friends sorrow be eased soon. :(

Melanie

[FSJeeper]

Originally posted by kerns:
Man looks like pictures from many of my trail rides. It could happen to anyone at any time...

CrazyKerns, my thoughts exactly. I was there the week after it happened. Like you said, could be pics taken out of any of our photo albums. And you are also right, it could happen to anyone of us.

[0312dickie]

I'm new to this Jeep thing, This bad news will encourage me not to take risk. sorry for the lost of this couple and will be praying for there family's.
Can anyone tell me how I can post pictures of my Jeep? Thanks.