Man Survives Rolling His SUV 250 Feet Down Mountainside
By Jeff Todd
ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4) - Hiking a 14,000-foot mountain can be dangerous, but just getting to the trailhead proved to be nearly deadly for a Denver man.
On his way to a camping spot before trying to climb Castle and Conundrum Peaks, James Scully got stuck in snow on a 4-wheel-drive road.
"I got to that tricky spot and I was a little overconfident in the vehicle and decided to try and correct it," Scully said.
With a snowbank on the passenger side of his modified Toyota FJ Cruiser, Scully got a tire stuck, and as he tried to get out of the snow his driver's side rear tire left the roadway.
"I tried to back it up and that's when it started sliding downhill," he said. "My first thought was 'Oh man, this is really going to hurt.'"
Scully slid 250 feet down the side of a mountain.
"The forest ranger told me I flipped a couple times end-over-end. Then the vehicle actually rolled six times on its side so if you can picture that," he said. "That's the biggest thing I remember, just that roof getting smaller and smaller and smaller with each and every impact."
Two men were driving behind Scully and witnessed the whole scene play out.
"They thought they were going to be pulling a corpse out of the truck. They were in serious shock and awe when they saw me crawl out of the back window," said Scully.
He had lacerations to his face, head, back and arms, but had no major injuries. The two men who helped him drove him to Aspen Valley Medical Center where doctors examined Scully and then released him. He says he's going to buy another FJ Cruiser.
"I'm still in shock and awe by it. It was just a crazy thing that happened," he said. Scully doesn't want to take on as much risk getting to a trail again, but he says he's not going to stop climbing mountains. His only advice? "Don't be afraid to ask for help."
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
