A 57-year-old Palisade, Colo., woman was killed on Sunday, Sept. 28, after a Jeep she was riding in attempted to cross the Bittercreek drainage about 2-1/4 miles from the Utah-Colorado border and was swept downstream, according to a Grand County Sheriff’s Office press release.
When the Jeep was swept downstream, it overturned, trapping passenger Susan Parker inside the vehicle. It traveled approximately 200 feet before it came to a stop.
The driver, who did not sustain any serious injuries, was able to reach the bank and started walking out of the area for help. He made contact with mountain bikers in the area and they were able to call for assistance.
Personnel from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol, as well as Bureau of Land Management rangers and additional search and rescue and medical personnel, responded to the area of the Rabbit Valley exit at mile marker 2 adjacent to Interstate 70, where they staged for the incident. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office was notified when it was confirmed that the accident occurred in Grand County.
Rescuers were able to winch the vehicle out of the wash, with Parker still inside. She was transported to the Spanish Valley Mortuary in Moab before being sent to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City.
The area of the accident had received significant amounts of rainfall and the washes in the area were unpredictable as to rate of flow and depth, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s office.
Accident in drainage near Utah-Colorado border
