A 19-year-old college student avoided serious injury Thursday after becoming airborne and rolling his car at 60 mph on U.S. Highway 550, north of Durango.
Jack Youle was driving southbound when he fell asleep and drifted off the right side of the road at 4:46 p.m. near mile marker 28, just south of Hermosa, said Stephanie Guilfoil, trooper with the Colorado State Patrol. Youle was returning home after taking finals at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
His Honda Accord hit a raised embankment at the entrance to a driveway and became airborne for about 85 feet, Guilfoil said.
“There was a real good gouge where it landed,” she said.
The car rolled and traveled more than 100 feet before coming to rest in a grassy open space near a fence.
Youle appeared uninjured, but he was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center as a precaution, Guilfoil said.
She credited airbags, a seat belt and his youth for the lack of injuries.
His car was totaled.
No drugs or alcohol are suspected.
Youle was cited with careless driving.
Traffic was backed up about a half-mile in both directions during the evening rush hour on U.S. Highway 550.
shane@durangoherald.com
