Jeep rolls 450 feet down steep terrain near Telluride injuring elderly couple

A Montrose couple sustained critical injuries when their Jeep tumbled down approximately 450 feet of steep terrain, said the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post Saturday.

The couple, who are both 72-years-old, were on their way to Telluride when their vehicle went off the road and down a steep embankment off Tomboy Road near Royer Gulch.

The Sheriff’s Office says the couple sustained multiple, critical injuries, and were transported by Telluride EMS to the Telluride Medical Center and then flown by medical helicopters to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction.

The rescue, which was completed by a multi-agency technical rope rescue with threats of rockfall, took five hours and 35 people, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The agencies involved in the rescue were the Telluride Fire Protection District EMS and Fire personnel, San Miguel Sheriff’s Deputies, San Miguel County Search and Rescue, and willing bystanders.