Driver yells for help after plunging off Colorado cliff, cops say. Photos show rescue

A man cried out for help for several hours after his car plunged off a cliff into a river in Colorado, police said.

A driver with the Colorado Department of Transportation noticed a debris field while on Red Mountain Pass early Thursday, then heard the screams, according to a news release posted on the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

“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,” the release said.

Officials from several agencies responded to the scene and closed the road to carry out rescue operations. Several photos posted on Facebook show a firefighter “making his way to the motorist and communicating between them and rescue personnel,” according to the release.

The victim was taken to Fellin Park and then transported to Montrose Hospital via helicopter. The sheriff’s office did not disclose the man’s condition in its release.

It’s not clear what caused the driver to go off the cliff and the sheriff’s office said new details were not available as of Friday afternoon.

This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Driver yells for help after plunging off Colorado cliff, cops say. Photos show rescue."