Arizona nurse, aunt and driver killed after Jeep plunges off Colorado cliff during offroad trip
SAN JUAN, COLORADO: In an off-road accident, a group comprising three people died while touring Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in a Jeep on Monday, September 12, a report said. The cause of the crash is still under investigation as authorities piece together the remains of the vehicle.
The Montrose Daily Press stated that Arizona tourists Diana Robles, 28, Ofelia Figueroa-Perez, 60, and hired driver Don Fehd, 72, were all pronounced dead after their 2022 Jeep Gladiator drifted off the edge of Ouray County Road 361. Detailing the horrific car accident, the official said the vehicle first went down 100 feet to the bottom of a cliff, before rolling about 140 feet down a rocky embankment, throwing Fehd out of the jeep.
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The official press statement from Colorado State Patrol read, “On Monday September 12, 2022 at approximately 1232 hours the Colorado State Patrol responded to a single vehicle rollover crash on County Road 361 (Camp Bird Road) near milepost 3.1 in Ouray County. The involved vehicle was a white 2022 Jeep Gladiator. All three occupants of the Jeep were killed in the crash.”
It added, “The Jeep was traveling north on County Road 361 (Camp Bird Road) driving towards Ouray from the Yankee Boy Basin area. It drifted off the right edge of the road which was a cliff. The Jeep fell to the bottom of the cliff impacting the ground. After impacting the ground, it rolled down a rocky embankment coming to final rest on its roof facing south near the bank of Canyon Creek. During the rollover sequence, the driver was ejected and came to final rest along the rocky embankment. The other two occupants remained inside the vehicle. The cause of the crash is under investigation.”
According to AllTrails, just minutes before the crash, Robles, who worked as a nurse in Yuma, had taken a photo of the iconic Imogene Pass, which is also the second highest drivable pass in entire Colorado. Her aunt, Figueroa-Perez, also served as a nurse, as per a Facebook post shared by the victim’s relative.
“We know they are in the merciful hands of our Lord as they being nurses had healing hands in every life they touched,” it read. As per The Ouray County Plaindealer, the driver of the vehicle, Fehd, worked at Colorado West Jeep Rentals and Tours and was recognized for his “quirky, genuine way” with his passengers.
As reported by KYMA, Cathleen Wolff, Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) Chaplain and Spiritual Care Manager, said, “Our YRMC family is in shock and colleagues are deeply grieving the sudden loss. Losing two beautiful caregivers is a tremendous loss. The pain we feel as an organization is immeasurable.”
This was the second fatal crash in the region within a week. An Arizona man died and his wife suffered serious injuries after an ATV rolled hundreds of feet around Imogene Pass, claimed the Daily Press.