A man was killed Friday afternoon after his car slid off Colorado Highway 145 and crashed into the Dolores River, landing upside down.
The accident occurred near mile marker 28, said Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin. There were no passengers.
Just after 9 p.m. Friday, Capt. Adrian Driscoll of the Colorado State Patrol said next of kin had been identified.
The driver was Isaiah Deswood, 26, of Red Mesa, Arizona, a small town in Apache County in northeast Arizona. Deswood was driving a 2003 Ford Taurus.
“The Colorado State Patrol is investigating,” Nowlin said. “The river is starting to run high, and the roads were slick and slushy.”
The crash was reported by a passing motorist just before 4 p.m., and several motorists stopped to assist, Driscoll said.
Rescuers from the Colorado State Patrol, Dolores Fire, Rico Fire and the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident that occurred between Stoner and the Taylor Creek Road.
Rescuers had to use ropes and rappel off a 50-foot embankment to reach the car and victim.
The crash closed the highway in both directions for a time, then was opened to alternating traffic for several hours until the road reopened fully at 7:30 p.m., Driscoll said.
A wrecker will pull the car from the river.
“Alcohol and speed are suspected,” Driscoll said. The investigation is continuing.
Durango Herald Staff Writer Ann Butler contributed to this story.
