LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — A driver in Larimer County has learned never to turn around if driving along Highway 14 in the Poudre Canyon.
Deputies with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post the driver attempted to turn around and backed up a little too far along the winding road when gravity did its worked and pulled his vehicle into the frigid waters of the canyon sometime last week.
The driver — whose identity was not released — managed to brake before fully losing control and “narrowly avoided sliding into the river.”
But deputies said he couldn’t safely get out as the front tires were the only anchor keeping him on dry land, so responders from the sheriff’s office and the Poudre Canyon Protection District as well as staff from the U.S. Forest Service quickly secured the teetering van by inching it to a Poudre Canyon Fire truck, then helped the driver get out.
“As you can see from the photos, the van was only hanging on by about 5 inches. Without a quick response and fast problem-solving, it would have slid into the water with the driver inside,” deputies said. “Fortunately, this ended with just a ticket - no injuries and no ride in the river.”
They advised drivers in the area to drive a few extra miles to safely turn around.
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