Colorado driver survives 300-foot drop off cliff
Oct 16, 2025, 5:55 PM | Updated: Oct 17, 2025, 12:04 pm
A Colorado driver is very lucky to be alive after plummeting 300 feet over the side of Red Mountain Pass. I have driven that pass. It’s terrifying with no guard rails. You need to be on alert at all times.
The unidentified driver walked away – once rescuers lifted him/her back to the roadway, that is – with only minor injuries.
The pickup truck went off the side of U.S. 550 on the north side of Red Mountain Pass shortly after noon on Thursday. Ouray-based first responders called in the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team to bring the driver from the canyon floor back to pavement via a technical rope system.
The truck took a 300-foot plunge after the pickup truck drove off the Million Dollar Highway in Ouray.
Dramatic photos show the mangled truck after flipping multiple times.
The driver had minor injuries and joked that it’s time to buy a lottery ticket. The treacherous highway has no guardrails due to frequent avalanches.
There have been 13 crashes on the 13-mile stretch of U.S. 550 between Ouray and the San Juan/San Miguel county line near the pass’s summit, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
See the video of the wreckage here. See pictures of the rescue here.
