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Nurse, 28, and her aunt, 60, are killed with their driver after their jeep plunged hundreds of feet over a cliff edge seconds after she posted a final picture of 'thrilling' route during off-road tour of Colorado's San Juan Mountains

By WALTER FINCH FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 04:50 EDT, 16 September 2022

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An aunt and niece were killed along with their tour driver when their jeep fell off the side of a cliff on a notoriously challenging trail in Colorado's San Juan Mountains on Monday.

Tourists Diana Robles, 28 and Ofelia Figueroa-Perez, 60, from Yuma, Arizona, and hired driver Don Fehd, 72, all died when their 2022 Jeep Gladiator tumbled over the the edge of Ouray County Road 361, also known as Camp Bird Road around midday on September 12.

The jeep, which was heading towards Ouray from the Yankee Boy Basin area, drifted off the road and immediately plummeted 100 feet to the bottom, before rolling 140 feet down a rocky embankment coming to final rest on its roof near the bank of Canyon Creek.

Fehd in the passenger seat was thrown from the vehicle, while the bodies of Robles and Figueroa-Perez were found still in their seats, police said.

Moments before the fatal crash, Robles had reportedly taken a snap of the iconic Imogene Pass, according to the New York Post.

It was the second deadly crash in the area in a week, with another Arizona resident killed and his wife injured when their all terrain vehicle suffered a similar disaster near Imogene Pass, the Daily Press reported.



Camp Bird Road is a totally unpaved 'narrow, picturesque mountain road,' according to Dangerous Roads , and those who venture along it should have a 'four-wheel drive and no fear of heights'

Fehd was described as being 'quirky and genuine' with guests who climbed into his jeep by Jeff Lindberg, the owner of the tour company.

Robles and Figueroa-Perez had hired the jeep and Fehd as part of a tour with Colorado West Jeep Rentals and Tours.

According to the State Patrol Trooper Josh Lewis, alcohol, drugs, weather and speed were not suspected factors in the incident, with both customers wearing their seatbelt.

It is unknown whether Fehd was also wearing his seatbelt.



The vehicle in question was a white 2022 Jeep Gladiator, rented from Colorado West Jeep Rentals and Tours (file photo)


It is home to the iconic Imogene Pass, a mountain pass 13,000 feet above sea level - and the second highest drivable pass in Colorado - that Robles had reportedly taken a snap of.

'The route demands 100 per cent concentration,' Dangerous Roads say, and has a 15mph speed limit.

whoops

Ive driven that road. It’s not that bad and is somewhat wide where they went off. Problem is there are no guardrails and the drops are severe. If you lose concentration it obviously can be fatal.

The driver was very experienced so not sure what happened. Been following this on some FB Jeep pages since it happened.

Population control,Colorado style.

Bad day all the way around.

If I was 72 (the guide) and I’m not far from that, I sure wouldn’t be a passenger in a vehicle on a dangerous mountain road driven by a person I don’t know, especially a women.

I've driven all over the San Juan Mountains. Spent Summers in Creede fishing and would venture out 4 wheeling in dad's K5 Blazer. Saw a lot of booboos and helped out a few stuck tourists. But that was years ago. Now Creede is overrun with tourists and all the trails are full of the clueless.

I am not worried about the trails, but the tourists will scare the hell out of you.

This clip has been floating around the web for a couple of years. I assume conditions must be similar - major pucker factor, not the place to be screwing around.

Dang,
Someone is gonna have to pay one hefty price to retrieve that vehicle.

Says the 72 year old was a "hired driver".

As a truck driver trainer, experience can be a bad thing.

Most accidents were among the under 6 month experience guys.
Trailer doors and mirrors ripped off. Poles hit....

It's was the guys with 2-3+ years experience that had way fewer incidents.
They were also much more likely to kill someone.


Complacency is a killer.

Driver probably stroked out or some schit. Bad deal all the way around.

i've driven or been a passenger over some of those mountain roads in the Ouray and Siverton area. Some of the shelf roads are so narrow and/or rough that they require 100% of the driver's concentration 99% of the time. Once the snow has melted enough for the roads to open there are probably more tourists than residents in San Juan County every weekend between Memorial and Labor Day. Heck, even US580, the main north-south road between Durango and Montrose, requires constant driver attention in the Million Dollar Highway section between Silverton and Ouray to keep the vehicle between the lines.

That would be a crazy thing to witness.

Ride a horse, save a Jeep 😳😁

Jamie Diamond is on his way….

I would rather ride a unicycle than a horse.

Im tryna come up with a dollar figure of how much you would have to pay me to be in a vehicle on one of those roads.

They survived that crash. They had a dog that got thrown out and survived as well. The pup was lost for a few days, it was found by another jeeper.

It also says “Fehd in the passenger seat was thrown from the vehicle”.

Poorly written/edited article.

Bad deal, in any event.

No wonder they crashed with the guy driving from the passenger seat.