A violent one-car crash Friday on Colorado Highway 145 injured one man, who required extrication and was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital.
The Ford SUV was southbound when it veered across the road onto the opposite shoulder, hit an embankment and flipped end over end, according to Trooper Gary Smith of the Colorado State Patrol.
The driver was injured and was trapped in the crumpled vehicle, which landed upright. Emergency crews from the Cortez Fire Protection District extricated the man using pneumatic cutters and spreaders.
Two children were in the car and were banged up but not badly injured, Smith said. They were wearing seat belts, and the driver’s air bag deployed.
A good Samaritan stopped when she saw the accident, and the children, who had gotten out of the vehicle, went running to her, Smith said.
The cause of the accident is under investigation. There were no obvious skid marks. Traffic was restricted for a half-hour to one alternating lane during the rescue.