A 43-year-old Kansas woman is dead and her daughter was seriously injured Tuesday after their 2014 Jeep Wrangler went off Iron Chest Road about 3 miles above St. Elmo, falling 600 feet down the mountainside, Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze said.
Jennifer Lynn Orr of Wichita was driving the vehicle in a caravan of five privately owned Jeeps headed up Iron Chest Road from CR 295.
Iron Chest Road is a rough four-wheel-drive road with steep drop-offs.
The vehicle was at an elevation of 11,440 feet when the slide occurred.
Upon encountering a large rock in the road, Orr tried to maneuver the Jeep over the rock, but the Jeep started to slide and went off the road and down the slope.
Spezze said the Chaffee County Communications Center received an emergency text about 12:30 p.m. and dispatched Chaffee County Search and Rescue North and other first responders to the scene.
Orr was pronounced dead at the scene, and her daughter was airlifted to Pueblo by a REACH Air Medical Services helicopter.
Other first responders called in to assist included the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services and Chaffee County Fire Protection District.
