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High school students survive car crash into Maroon Creek

Jason Auslander/Aspen Times

ASPEN — A car with five high school students inside missed a corner Wednesday night on Maroon Creek Road and flew off the road, down an embankment and into Maroon Creek, a witness said Thursday.

A T-Lazy 7 Ranch resident, who was one of the first people on scene, said his father called him and told him a car was in the river and people needed assistance.

“He said a girl was still in the vehicle,” said Jesse Dean, 27. “We wanted to make sure everyone was safe and stable.”



When he reached the car ­— a Tesla — he found a man and woman still inside, though neither appeared seriously injured. Both were conscious and responsive and were not trapped, he said.

Three others who were in the car were on the road at the time and also did not appear seriously injured, Dean said.



The car appeared to have missed a corner near the T-Lazy 7 and may have flown as much as 100 feet off the road and 20 feet down an embankment into Maroon Creek, he said.

Police and paramedics arrived about the same time as Dean, who helped them carry the girl out of the car.

Alex Burchetta, operations director for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, said all the occupants of the car were minors and area high school students. All five were taken to Aspen Valley Hospital and at least one may have been flown to a larger hospital, though that could not be confirmed, he said.

The Colorado State Patrol was called to investigate the crash, though a trooper did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Dean praised the safety measures built into the Tesla.

“They were extremely fortunate,” he said. “For all intents and purposes, it flew 100 feet before landing.”


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