On October 10, 2020, a parked Jeep Wrangler rolled off the Black Bear Pass road with a passenger and two dogs inside. This video shows the view from my Jeep of part of the accident. Note that at the time of this recording, there was no longer anyone in the Jeep as the passenger had already been ejected from the tumbling vehicle. The passenger survived, but sustained very serious injuries. (Both dogs were eventually found and are in good health.)
Any proceeds from this video are being donated towards the passenger's recovery.
Direct donations to help with medical and other costs can be made at the link above.
Here are some news links about the accident:
Answers to some of your questions:
1) As mentioned above, the dogs are OK.
2) My friend was following behind me in his own Jeep and having just completed the turn was a ways back and had a better view of the hillside. He spotted the rolling Jeep first. Reacting quickly, he warning me over our two-way radios. Having been warned I had my head up. As the video shows, I saw it just in time. From the time my friend first saw the falling Jeep to the point where it hit the road in front of me was approximately 5 seconds.
OFF-ROADING IN A GROUP WITH ACTIVE COMMUNICATIONS CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.
3) We had met the couple involved earlier on the trail. Spent some time chatting and comparing Jeep mods (of course). Later, when I saw the Jeep come down the hill I recognized it immediately and assumed the worst. What is not shown on the video is me slamming my Jeep into reverse and gunning it backwards, hoping to avoid a possible wider rock slide. Fortunately that rock slide did not happen. After exiting my Jeep I heard the woman calling for help. My friend and I, and many others did what we could to keep her safe until paramedics arrived. Also during this time the owner of the wrecked Jeep worked his way down the slope to get to her. His injuries were relatively minor but not insignificant. I was extremely relieved and more than a little surprised that they both were alive.
4) The owner of the rolling Jeep did not drive off the road. He had parked his Jeep and gotten out to help a following vehicle negotiate a tight turn. His Jeep popped out of gear and gravity overcame the parking brake. He tried to re-enter the Jeep to stop it but got thrown off as the Jeep went over the edge. Just the day before on a different trail, I had trouble getting my parking brake to hold on a steep hill. It happens. WHENEVER YOU ARE PARKING ANY VEHICLE ANYWHERE, paved or un-paved, steep or seemingly flat, please ensure you have fully set your parking brake, have the transmission in Park or the appropriate manual gear, and have turned your front wheels in a direction appropriate for the situation.
5) In the time it took you to read all of this, you could have made a donation: https://www.gofundme.com/f/helping-su.... Thank you!
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