HUERFANO— A one-car rollover accident Tuesday evening sent four people to Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center, when Flight for Life from both Colorado Springs and Alamosa were unable to pick them up due to weather conditions. Shortly after 6:30 pm, La Veta ambulance, La Veta fire department, and Huerfano Sheriff crews responded to an emergency call from a woman who hiked down County Road 422 on the way to Blue and Bear Lakes, to report her car had rolled 30 feet down a steep embankment. Initially, rescuers were not sure where the wreck had occured, and were searching up and down the road, until finally one emergency responder found the woman on the road above the crash, three miles up the canyon. After that, things proceeded quickly. The vehicle was in the creek, a mother and 10-month old son were trapped inside, and the driver had been ejected. A rescue truck with Jaws for Life was called for, and rescuers had to cut the driver out of some bushes he had been thrown into. A passenger had deep lacerations, and
another was suffering from shoulder and foot injuries. Because Flight for Life was unable to get there, rescuers had to pack the victims up the slope in baskets. They were transported to Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center, where the trauma unit had been activated. In all, it took close to an hour and a half to complete the rescue of all four victims and get them transported. According to Malea Schmidt, EMS director of the La Veta Fire District, two paramedics, six to eight EMS personnel, the La Veta Fire Department, and Rescue 1 and 2 vehicles were involved in the effort.
