Emergency responders had their hands full Sunday when a swerving driver passed the scene of a rollover on Colorado Highway 140 south of Hesperus.

Around 12:45 p.m., an 18-year-old Hesperus woman was driving north when she went off the right-hand side of the road, rolling 160 feet and through a fence.

Colorado State Trooper Stephanie Guilfoil said the driver claimed feeling dizzy, and then blacked out before the crash. She was driving a 1991 Chevy Lumina, which was totaled, traveling about 65 mph, the posted speed limit.

“She did have her seat belt on, and I think that’s what saved her life,” Guilfoil said.

The driver was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center with head, neck and hip injuries, none of which were critical, Guilfoil said.

About the same time, further south near mile marker 2, someone reported that a gold Nissan sedan was stuck in a ditch.

Guilfoil said a deputy was sent to investigate, but the female driver had made it out of the ditch and had driven north toward the scene of the rollover.

“She ended up coming through the crash scene,” Guilfoil said. “She had slowed down because we had fire personnel with a stop sign controlling traffic. But she was swerving. I watched her cross the center line, even at 20 mph.”

Guilfoil said the vehicle had New Mexico plates, though she didn’t have information on the driver available. The female driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

jromeo@durangoherald.com