Continued:
7) “Eventually he came to a point where his front tire had built up too much snow. When he accelerated, it caused his left back wheel to fall off the slope,” Crabb said. “At that point, he tried to reverse and cut his car back to the right. That caused his front left wheel to fall off the slope as well.”
"Scully got out of the car to look at the scenario. Crabb said he and Tinsley told him he shouldn’t get back in. They didn’t have a tow strap or a winch, so they suggested he leave the car overnight and come back with help the next day to remove it."
I think it's worth pointing out here that between two "offroad" vehicles there wasn't a strap to be found. This could lead you to believe that either the preparedness level was low, or the experience level was still in the early stages. Either way, a simple strap may have changed the outcome.
7) “We told him it was really risky,” Crabb said. “It wasn’t teetering, but it was steep.”
"But Scully said he was just focused on getting his truck out of the situation. He heard Tinsley and Crabb tell him it was a tough spot, but he was determined to get out of it."
“I’m taking action to get myself out of this predicament I got myself in,” Scully said. “There wasn’t any time to feel any serious emotion. I was just in the moment and I just downplayed it.”
And here is where a bad situation became deadly. If you ever find yourself in a precarious situation on a trail and your heart is pounding in your chest, your knees are weak, and your hands are a bit shakey from a close call... STOP. Just STOP. Walk away, take a breath, eat a sandwich, anything but jump right back in the vehicle. Don't let anyone rush you. Don't let your ego or pride push you into an even worse situation.
Also, take the time to gather advice. You never know who might have a suggestion that will get you out of a situation.
8) "He got back in the FJ Cruiser and tried to back up and that’s when it started to slide down the steep slope to the left. Scully wasn’t able to put his seatbelt on when he got back in because it had locked up due to the position of the vehicle. So there he was, tumbling down the side of a mountain with no seatbelt."
Unfortunately this is a real issue. I've been in situations where I needed to get out an look at vehicle position while it was in a bind, only to return to a locked up seatbelt.
I have begrudgingly backed off of obstacles to release the seatbelts even after making progress due to nearby drop-offs. If nothing else, the fact he couldn't get his seatbelt back on should have been the final warning signal that another method would be needed.
9) “The weirdest thing was I just remained calm the whole time,” Scully said. “The biggest thing I remember was looking up at the ceiling and every time it hit the ground, seeing it slowly crushing in on me.”
When the vehicle came to rest on the driver’s side, he said he couldn’t believe that it stopped. He crawled out the back window and saw Tinsley and Crabb running down the slope toward him.
“They’re seeing cascading blood down my face, and I’m talking about my truck and my gear — I wasn’t even thinking about ‘Do I have any broken bones?’” Scully said. “They were like, ‘I can’t believe you’re alive.’”
Crabb said it took about 15 or 20 seconds for the FJ Cruiser to roll down the hill. He estimated that it rolled about seven times.
“It was like a movie, like slow motion,” Crabb said. “We were both just kind of frozen there, standing and watching this thing roll.”
Crabb and Tinsley ran to their Jeep to get a first-aid kit. Crabb said he changed into better hiking shoes and looked down and saw Scully standing outside of the FJ.
“We were in awe that he got out,” Crabb said.
Tinsley, a pre-medical student, helped bandage Scully up, Crabb said.
He had a couple of gashes on his head and his hair was soaked in blood.
“He was really in shock, shaking a lot,” Crabb said. “He was saying, ‘I should be dead.’”
If you don't have a first-aid kit in your rig, stop what you're doing and order one now. If you have one but don't know how to use it, jump on youtube, sign up for a class, do something to get some training. It might save someone's life.
10) They got in the Jeep and headed down the mountain to get Scully medical attention. They assessed that he wasn’t in immediate danger so they decided to drive him to Aspen Valley Hospital rather than call for help via a nearby camper’s emergency beacon.
Just an observation... You just rolled 250' down a mountainside without a seatbelt... you're in shock... bleeding... someone with "some" medical training patches you up... what are you going to do next?
I'm going to "get to the choppa" or roles-reversed, I'm going to get YOU to a chopper. Not load you up in a Jeep and bounce down an already dangerous trail. He's lucky there wasn't any internal bleeding and that the shock didn't take him completely out.
11) "Scully, who said he’s lived in Colorado for eight years and often heads into the mountains for various adventures such as climbing, skiing or biking, is feeling especially grateful for running into Tinsley and Crabb that day. His FJ Cruiser is totaled and his insurance company is working on recovering it from the scene, he said.
“I’m getting another FJ Cruiser after it saved my life,” he said. “I rolled it eight times and didn’t get hurt that bad — it’s a pretty good truck.”
It’s hard to explain how he walked away from the crash, Scully said. He said he learned the hard way that he should have parked lower and hiked the extra vertical terrain. He hopes people who read about his experience can learn something, too. A good piece of advice he’ll follow while off-roading alone in the future: Turn around once the road gets to a point when you need to switch gears into 4-low.
He’s also been doing a lot of self-reflecting ever since.
“I definitely feel lucky, and I’m sort of questioning my existence and that type of thing,” Scully said. “It’s just tough to really make any sense of it.”
I know this is a harsh review of the the decisions made by the individuals, but my purpose is to express to new overland travelers who may read this article that there were many mis-steps that led to the rollover. None of this is directed personally at the individual and I sincerely hope one day he can get in involved with a group of overlanders/offroaders that will help him with the fundamentals. Sorry this got a bit long-winded but I felt like it needed to be addressed in detail. We want everyone to enjoy the lifestyle and come home in one piece.
Here's some main points I would hope we walk away from this story with:
1) Keep a level head.
2) Go prepared.
3) Never rush.
4) Be humble.
5) Know your limitations.
6) When all safe efforts fail, STOP.
:END SOAP BOX:
