Vehicle plunges 150 yards down steep embankment in Durango; driver is missing

A silver Toyota 4Runner tumbled about 150 yards down a steep embankment near the Hillcrest Golf Club sometime late Thursday or early Friday, according to the Durango Police Department.

Police were notified of the incident at 8:28 a.m. and were investigating the scene for much of the morning Friday. About 30 rescue workers were at the scene, including search and rescue members and firefighters with Durango Fire Protection District.

The driver of the vehicle remained missing as of Friday afternoon, said Brice Current, assistant chief with the Durango Police Department.

Durango resident Baker McKonly said he was running on a trail leading up College Mesa on Friday morning when he noticed debris from the wreckage.

He “scrambled” down to the vehicle, but didn’t find anybody around. He found a shoe and blood on rocks, he said.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to go see what I was going to see,” he said. “I had to scramble down to it. It was hands and feet to get down to it.”

He said the vehicle was 300 to 400 feet down a ravine, and it went off one of the steepest areas of the road.

McKonly said he notified police of the crash.

Police told him there was a hit-and-run crash the previous night at the college, but Current said it was unknown if the two incidents are related.

“We just want to make sure the driver is safe and OK,” Current said.

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