Car reportedly falls from I-70 near Eisenhower Tunnel

A rescue operation removed a driver who was trapped in a passenger vehicle that went off the road surface of Interstate 70 Friday night near the Continental Divide and came to rest hundreds of feet below.

Radio traffic from Summit County first responders suggested the car landed on a road below the highway. But those first responders also described that road as impassable for emergency vehicles and asked for snowmobiles to assist in the rescue of the driver. 

A spokesperson for the Summit County Search And Rescue Group, Anna DeBattiste, confirmed that her agency was involved in the response to the accident scene. 

Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer confirmed the Ford F-150 pickup was eastbound in the left lane. The 70-year-old driver from Erie lost control of the truck, crossed the lanes of traffic, hit the guardrail and went over it. The truck rolled multiple times on its way down the approximately 350-foot embankment, Moltrer said. The truck landed on its passenger side.   

The incident was first reported about 7 p.m. It happened near mile marker 211, west of the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel.

According to further radio traffic, snowplow drivers from the Colorado Department of Transportation were in the area at the time of the accident and stopped along I-70 above the accident scene. However, a CSP's Moltrer noted it was not clear whether slick road conditions contributed to the vehicle leaving the highway.  

On the radio, first responders were also using "The Box," an access point to the scene from a frontage road that goes under I-70 in the area. This access was replaced in October 2022 to allow for larger emergency vehicles.