I was on my way home from the local outdoor shooting range this morning in Rough Rider. The road to the range is a windy canyon road and has been the bane of many a driver who misjudged the curves. I have personally come across several folks in the past who lost control of their vehicle and went off the road and into the rocks and dirt. It is always a job for a tow truck to get them out.
Today as I rounded a sharp curve my eyes were drawn to skid marks on the road and then to a white BMW sports sedan planted on the hill with the front facing the road and the back tires off the ground. The driver was standing beside the car looking lost. No one was stopping so I pulled over and went to speak with him.
He had made a U turn at the curve and punched the pedal before the back right tire was on the pavement. He spun out and went off the road backwards with the tail of the car up the hill, the back tires hanging in air and the nose buried in the soft dirt.
I offered to pull him out and he took my offer. I had to rig a snatch block to his tow hook and run the winch cable through the snatch block and back to my front bumper tow hook.
The car was buried enough in the soft dirt that when power was applied to the winch, the Jeep got pulled to the BMW! I had the chap get in and put his foot on the brake (apparently he has not driven a clutch because the three pedals threw him. I told him to make use of the center one) while I ran the winch control. We got the car back on the level and started after checking for damage to the engine pan and transmission. Except for the tail pipes full of dirt and the plastic rear bumper pushed in, all seemed to be well.
The chap had an English accent which made me wonder if the car was a rental. I hope he took the damage waiver!
About 20 years earlier I was driving on a similar twisting canyon road in my hometown when I came across a hatchback car off the road and in the mud. The driver was an English tourist and somehow had lost control and gone off the road. That day I was driving my little Suzuki Samurai with a winch. I pulled his car out and sent him on his way with more goodwill created with our cousins across the sea.
I followed today's errant driver until he reached the city limits in case his car quit running but all was ok. He was leaving a trail of dirt though, falling from his quad exhaust each time he hit a bump!
Today as I rounded a sharp curve my eyes were drawn to skid marks on the road and then to a white BMW sports sedan planted on the hill with the front facing the road and the back tires off the ground. The driver was standing beside the car looking lost. No one was stopping so I pulled over and went to speak with him.
He had made a U turn at the curve and punched the pedal before the back right tire was on the pavement. He spun out and went off the road backwards with the tail of the car up the hill, the back tires hanging in air and the nose buried in the soft dirt.
I offered to pull him out and he took my offer. I had to rig a snatch block to his tow hook and run the winch cable through the snatch block and back to my front bumper tow hook.
The car was buried enough in the soft dirt that when power was applied to the winch, the Jeep got pulled to the BMW! I had the chap get in and put his foot on the brake (apparently he has not driven a clutch because the three pedals threw him. I told him to make use of the center one) while I ran the winch control. We got the car back on the level and started after checking for damage to the engine pan and transmission. Except for the tail pipes full of dirt and the plastic rear bumper pushed in, all seemed to be well.
The chap had an English accent which made me wonder if the car was a rental. I hope he took the damage waiver!
About 20 years earlier I was driving on a similar twisting canyon road in my hometown when I came across a hatchback car off the road and in the mud. The driver was an English tourist and somehow had lost control and gone off the road. That day I was driving my little Suzuki Samurai with a winch. I pulled his car out and sent him on his way with more goodwill created with our cousins across the sea.
I followed today's errant driver until he reached the city limits in case his car quit running but all was ok. He was leaving a trail of dirt though, falling from his quad exhaust each time he hit a bump!
