Spring Snowstorm Causes Tow Truck to Tumble 200 Feet Down Coal Bank Pass

A tow truck driver, responding to a call about a car that had slipped off of the road on Coal Bank Pass during a recent snowstorm, found himself tumbling 200 feet off of the pass. Somehow, he survived.

Donnie Curnow, owner of Animas Towing in Silverton, was about three miles from the stranded motorist when he slid off of Coal Bank Pass on US Highway 550 while driving through the curve in the area near Lime Creek. Curnow's Ford F450 Tow Truck tumbled over boulders before coming to rest with part of the truck in the creek.

In an interview with the Durango Herald, Curnow said he hit his head more than once on the roof of the cab which was completely crushed when the truck finally stopped.

He managed to free himself from the vehicle and in spite of injuries, including a broken sternum, and broken vertebrae and climbed back up to the highway then waited in a motorist's car until an emergency crew arrived.

Curnow's dog Dozer, who was in the truck with him, also survived the crash but Curnow wasn't able to get close enough to the frightened animal to get him back to the road.

An emergency responder climbed down the embankment and coaxed the wet, cold, and frightened dog into letting him help.

Source: Durango Herald