A 60-year-old woman is dead, and a man badly injured, after the motorcycle he was driving slammed into a guardrail on State Highway 145 near Telluride on Sunday.
San Miguel County Sheriff’s deputies found the driver, a 64-year-old Mancos man, lying in the roadway, bleeding and partially conscious, when they arrived at the scene near Windy Point at 3:05 p.m.
The woman, who flew over a guardrail when the bike crashed, was 30 yards below the road down a steep embankment.
Bystanders, including a nurse who was performing CPR on the woman, were also at the scene.
Telluride Fire Protection District Emergency Medical Service providers rappelled down the slope to reach the woman.
They tried CPR and other life-saving measures before pronouncing her dead.
They treated the male driver and he was taken by ambulance to the Telluride Medical Center, and then to Mercy Hospital in Durango.
He sustained multiple injuries that don’t appear to be life threatening.
The two were traveling south on the highway, and failed to negotiate a left-hand turn just past a large scenic pullout.
Both victims were wearing helmets.
“Our thoughts are with the deceased’s family at this very difficult time,” Sheriff Bill Masters said in a news release.
The Colorado State Patrol is investigating the incident. Investigators don’t believe drugs or alcohol were involved.
