A man called for help on his cellular phone today after plunging 200 feet from a cliff into the Colorado River, officials said.
His truck landed upside down in the water, about a half-mile from Corn Lake in Mesa County, said Norma Mestas, spokeswoman for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
“He never lost consciousness,” Mestas said. “He called from the vehicle.”
It took rescue workers an hour to reach him. He was taken by boat to Corn Lake and then by ambulance to a hospital, Mestas said.
The Colorado State Patrol identified the driver as Chad Reiner, 28, of Grand Junction.
The man was driving on a dirt road in a spaghetti-squash field at about 9 a.m. when he went over the edge of the cliff, Mestas said.
Investigators with the state patrol found “excessive speed” to be a factor in the incident, according to a press release. Reiner was not wearing a seat belt, according to the CSP.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
