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An off-highway vehicle rollover outside Silverton that left four injured Monday happened when the vehicle went over the edge of what officials are calling “the most dangerous road in San Juan County.”
A family of four was traveling with their dog in the side-by-side down a series of switchbacks on County Road 3B from Stoney Pass, near Cunningham Gulch east of Silverton, when the incident occurred around noon. The route is also known as the “Buffalo Boy Road.”
The OHV rolled 194 feet in total, according to investigators. The passengers and driver were able to jump out of the tumbling vehicle after it exited the roadway; the family dog did not survive.
A woman riding as a passenger and a youth male were flown by helicopters to separate medical facilities with critical injuries before they were taken to Front Range trauma centers.
Flight records show that a Flight For Life helicopter from Mercy Hospital in Durango and a CareFlight of the Rockies helicopter from St. Mary's Regional Hospital in Grand Junction both responded to the area around 1 p.m. and later returned to their hospitals of origin.
An adult male driver and a youth female passenger were taken by ambulance to an area hospital.
The status of all four patients is unknown.
San Juan County officials are still investigating the cause of the accident and it is unknown whether the victims were wearing safety equipment such as helmets and seat belts.
Over a dozen members of Silverton Medical Rescue responded to the accident, Incident Cmdr. Michael Burton said in a news release from the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management.
It took Animas Towing and Recovery 12½ hours to recover the OHV. Parts of the vehicle were scattered over a 50-foot radius.
The OHV rolled 112 feet from an upper switchback to a lower road and then continued an additional 82 feet into the trees, San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy Abigail Armistead said in the release.
County spokeswoman DeAnne Gallegos said the rollover occurred from the exact same switchback as an OHV rollover in August that sent four patients to the hospital in critical condition. One patient later had his left leg amputated below the knee.
“I firmly believe that the Buffalo Boy Road is the most dangerous road in San Juan County because it is the only one from which 8 seriously injured patients have been transported to emergency medical centers in the past 12 months alone,” Armistead said. “… Although it is not as popular or as well-known as many of the other 4x4 trails in our county, it is the only one associated with such a high rate of critical injuries in such a short period of time.”
Gallegos said it is critical that visitors who come to explore the San Juan Mountains in OHVs are conscientious of the rugged terrain, exercise caution given the sudden switchbacks and always wear helmets and seat belts.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
