Man drives off cliff at Colorado National Monument, lands on rock
Associated Press
Published January 22, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.
Updated January 23, 2009 at 9:48 a.m.
Chris Tomlinson © GJSentinel.com
A Ranger checks on a van Thursday that hangs with its rear wheels over the brink of a 180-foot precipice above Red Canyon in the Colorado National Monument.
Photo by Chris Tomlinson © GJSentinel.com
A van teeters on a cliff side in Red Canyon in the Colorado National Monument Thursday afternoon.
GRAND JUNCTION — An outcropping of rock in the Colorado National Monument may have helped save the life of a man whose van came within a few feet of plunging into a canyon.
Authorities say the 34-year-old man drove some 120 feet off Rim Rock Drive in an apparent suicide attempt at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, but he called 911 after the van became stuck on the rock overhang.
His van careened into Red Canyon onto a rock overhang about six miles from the east entrance. Officials at the scene said if the van had missed the overhang by 10 feet, it would have plummeted the entire 300 feet to the bottom of the canyon.
“This was definitely not an accident,” Park superintendent Joan Anzelmo said. “We feel strongly that he intentionally drove himself off Rimrock Drive.”
More than two dozen members of the Grand Junction Fire Department and Mesa County Search and Rescue secured the teetering van, then lifted the man to safety. He was trapped for about two hours before being airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital at about 6:30 p.m.
Anzelmo said "it is but for the grace of God or a higher power" that the man survived.
His name was not released.
The Daily Sentinel contributed to this report.
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January 22, 2009
2:48 p.m.
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psu96 writes:
nice work SAR
January 22, 2009
2:50 p.m.
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zippy66 writes:
I saw this in a Roadrunner cartoon
January 22, 2009
2:53 p.m.
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Scott writes:
From the looks of that van, it appears to be of the same vintage as a "Roadrunner cartoon". :-)
Scott
January 22, 2009
3 p.m.
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Jason writes:
And I thought I was having car troubles.
January 22, 2009
3:05 p.m.
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Rent_Due writes:
This story is confusing. The second paragraph has way too much dimensional information laid out in a jumbled way. Does RMN pay by the word or something?
It took 30 rescuers to save him. Did they pull his van up by hand with thier "pulley" system?
January 22, 2009
3:11 p.m.
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Rent_Due writes:
Once he's free and safe....wouldn't you just go ahead push it the rest of way? I mean, what's the point.
January 22, 2009
3:15 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Ruh-Roh, Shaggy!
Oh, Scoob, we're in a pickle now!
January 22, 2009
3:19 p.m.
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F1RST writes:
Was he on his cellphone? Wearing a helmet? Seatbelt? Listening to the radio? high? (include all other "trolling" questions). that picture is classic. can we give him TARP money to fix the van?
January 22, 2009
3:21 p.m.
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girl428 writes:
Men can't do anything right.
January 22, 2009
3:27 p.m.
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sweetater writes:
Someone was watching over him
January 22, 2009
3:33 p.m.
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leatherneck writes:
You"ll have plenty of time to think about life, when you're living in a Van Down by the river.......
January 22, 2009
3:38 p.m.
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Willy writes:
Wonder how many empties are rolling around in the back of that van?
January 22, 2009
3:39 p.m.
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jersey writes:
Guardian Angel working OT!
January 22, 2009
3:41 p.m.
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Triumph writes:
Poor guy. I wonder what's his story. Bad Brakes, needs driving lessons, drunk or on drugs or failed suicide attempt? I'm getting vertigo just looking at the picture. He's a one in a million lucky guy!
January 22, 2009
3:53 p.m.
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ou8one2 writes:
Parking at that mall is a real B***H!
January 22, 2009
4:28 p.m.
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Jason writes:
It's just not his time to go, even if that's what the guy wanted. If he gets things turned around, he could become a motivational speaker.
January 22, 2009
4:29 p.m.
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INC writes:
Ding ding!!!
leatherneck wins the one liner award today. L-M-A-O!!!
January 22, 2009
4:38 p.m.
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INC writes:
Well that van does have a great view... LOL...
Any Bids?
January 22, 2009
4:48 p.m.
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Faux_Noise writes:
I don't know, Daylight is in the running too.
January 22, 2009
5 p.m.
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anderson writes:
I heard they found a Bob Seger cassette plugged in the dash--the one with "Like a Rock".
January 22, 2009
5:25 p.m.
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juliodwight writes:
I heard this guy gives away the best candy.
What, he seems legit...
January 22, 2009
5:41 p.m.
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mrtaco writes:
a failure failing at the ultimate act of failure! fitting.
January 22, 2009
5:59 p.m.
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SevenBelowZero writes:
10 bucks says he couldn't do that again.
January 22, 2009
6:51 p.m.
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redwhiteandBLUE writes:
It's not your time yet buddy!
January 22, 2009
7:08 p.m.
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ruckerz writes:
FAIL
January 22, 2009
7:36 p.m.
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Finding_Forever writes:
WOW!
January 22, 2009
8:26 p.m.
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Who_Me writes:
Let's not forget his original problem: having to drive a Ford POS.
January 22, 2009
8:56 p.m.
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expetrbiltdrvr writes:
Who-me: i think you might want to take another look at that van it is not a ford but a dodge. If your going to make a comment about somthing get your facts straight. ID 10 T.
January 22, 2009
9:21 p.m.
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StillUndecided writes:
The current headline on this story is "Man drives off cliff at Colorado National Monument, lands on rock".
It would be hard to drive off of any cliff in Colorado and NOT land on a rock...
January 22, 2009
9:44 p.m.
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Who_Me writes:
Thank you for correcting me, I do appreciate the accuracy. I should have said American POS and then I would have been covered.
January 22, 2009
9:56 p.m.
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motherhub writes:
Hope he squashed that blasted Geico lizard while he was at it...
January 22, 2009
10:55 p.m.
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INC writes:
Who_Me,
Thats American pride for ya. your screen name should be "DodgePOS".
So what do you roll in? a VW or Toy?
then you will complain about how Americas economic woes are "Dems" fault.
January 22, 2009
11:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
Who_Me writes:
I blame the manufacturers, couldn't care less about Dem or Rep regarding that. If (the collective) we make an inferior product, why do we have to support that business? Lexus for me, if you must know, wife has a Toyota.
January 23, 2009
6:28 a.m.
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DeimosJB writes:
How in the world did the guy survive a 120 ft drop, let alone in good enough condition to call 911 and get a rescue? Fairly amazing.
January 23, 2009
7:42 a.m.
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RealifeTauren writes:
Lol Julio...love that picture/sign you're referring to.
January 23, 2009
8:15 a.m.
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TheDenverB writes:
"So what do you roll in? a VW or Toy?
then you will complain about how Americas economic woes are "Dems" fault."
both VW and Toyota have plants in the united states that employ thousands of American's each year to manufacture the cars that we buy (which, by the way, support the thousands of Americans working in dealerships across the nation).
essentially, the working class Americans are getting paid for those foreign cars. It's the fat cat American owners -- who can't run their car companies (ford, gm, chrysler) anyway and export manufacturing jobs to places like Mexico anyway -- that aren't seeing the dollar.
beyond that, Americans... actually, any smart person... is going to be buying cars based on reliability....and lets face it, American car companies haven't really taken the lead on that through MOST of the late 80s, all of the 90s and the first half of this decade. It's only NOW that they are catching on and modeling their businesses and cars after SUCCESSFUL car companies (that, you guessed it... AREN'T american ones)
your comment makes you sound so very ignorant to the real workings of the world. please do some research next time before commenting.
January 23, 2009
8:18 a.m.
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TheDenverB writes:
that said...
who_me sounds llike a fool for saying that, considering those work vans are some of the best products Dodge ever put out in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. There's a reason that's one of the only Dodges of that vintage you'll see on the roads these days... they were overbuilt and not a bad car at all.
ill still take my VW Bus over one any day... but really man, you sound foolish...
January 23, 2009
8:36 a.m.
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stumanchu writes:
When I see the picture, I am at first grateful to his rescuers, then start to think of the possibilities of a commercial.
January 23, 2009
9:03 a.m.
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Hedz writes:
Wow. Tell me there isn't a God.......
January 23, 2009
9:12 a.m.
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Rex writes:
Ut oh, better bet Macco!
January 23, 2009
9:14 a.m.
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Willy writes:
TheDenverB writes:
ill still take my VW Bus over one any day...
They should be illegal west of I-25. :)
January 23, 2009
9:20 a.m.
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dj80long writes:
I wonder if the windows were broken, before it rolled over the cliff.
January 23, 2009
9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
Who_Me writes:
TheDenverB and his anally controlled restricted view of life fails to see humor or other points of view without projecting his smug anonymous intelligenstia-but-really-based-on-inferiority issues onto others. But really man, you sound foolish because you are foolish.
January 23, 2009
9:41 a.m.
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classiccoupe writes:
Only freakin idiots would turn a story like this into a political squabble!
January 23, 2009
9:43 a.m.
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QueenMama writes:
Congratulations, dude...you made it on Fark.com! (I have a question, however...HOW did the van get turned around like that? I'm smelling viral ad here...)
January 23, 2009
10 a.m.
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jbowen43 writes:
Leave the van there. It looks sculptural.
January 23, 2009
10:05 a.m.
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freedomfighter1 writes:
He meant to do that.
January 23, 2009
10:15 a.m.
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FTR writes:
I hope he had roadside help and first accedent forgivness. Cause he was in "Good Hands" ha.
January 23, 2009
10:26 a.m.
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lastdance writes:
Ever wonder where the valet guy parks your car?
January 23, 2009
10:34 a.m.
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Who_Me writes:
Nothing beats the parking garage scene in Ferris Buller's Day Off.
January 23, 2009
10:51 a.m.
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dragonfly writes:
The ultimate high-center.
January 23, 2009
11:35 a.m.
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kali73 writes:
Let's see if our government makes him pay for the rescue and clean-up. Taxpayers should not have to pay for stuff idiots like this do that endangers the rescuers.
January 23, 2009
1:01 p.m.
Suggest removal
redwhiteandBLUE writes:
who_me
Reminds me of the old saying, about Fords.
F found O on the R road D dead :)
Now on the cliff.
January 23, 2009
1:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
Who_Me writes:
Or like Found Under Cliff Kept Everyone Dangling.
January 23, 2009
2:24 p.m.
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dilligaf writes:
This to weird. If a guy was so desperate to kill himself why would he call 911? Why didn't he just open the door and jump. But since he didn't throw this clown in jail for putting other lives in danger.
January 23, 2009
2:43 p.m.
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stumanchu writes:
I was told that there was a penalty for leaving a vehicle wreckage in National forest domain.
January 23, 2009
3:08 p.m.
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buffsblg writes:
If this was a suicide attempt, it may be that after the initial impact he realized this was scarier and more serious than he realized. Sometimes getting a second chance gives someone an opportunity to rethink. I hope it sticks.
January 24, 2009
1:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
wildHare writes:
Why isn't the Ranger wearing a harness and cable, to protect His silly life, in case the van caused the rocks to weaken and the whole thing crumbles?
Someone has already cabled the van, but EMTs and other emergency folks know that such a location could be unstable and protect themselves in such a situation. They don't want to become a victim of doing their emergency work.
Or is he trying for a work related death/injury?
12 demerits for risking HIS life and potentially requiring others to risk theirs to save his.
January 24, 2009
5:32 a.m.
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longpasttime writes:
Turns out this guy is a major perv... he molested a four year old girl. Too bad the cliff wasn't 2000 feet high!
January 29, 2009
6:57 p.m.
Suggest removal
tarbysmom writes:
guess no one ever told the writer about "at" and "about" when it comes to putting in times of day - it's either "at 4 pm" or it's "about 4 pm" - NOT "at about 4 pm."