UPDATE:
4:45 p.m. Friday — The man who died in Thursday’s accident on Highway 550 near County Road 17 between Ouray and Ridgway has been identified as 22-year-old Manuel David Jocobi Nunez.
Nunez, originally from Mexico, lived in Ouray for a couple of months working at local establishments, according to Ouray County Coroner Glenn Boyd.
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UPDATE:
1:15 p.m. Thursday — The person who died in this morning’s accident is a 21-year-old man, according to Ouray County Coroner Glenn Boyd. The man’s name has not yet been released because authorities are still trying to contact next of kin.
A previous version of this story has been updated to indicate the victim of the accident was a man, not a woman.
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UPDATE:
10:10 a.m. Thursday – Both Highway 550 and County Road 17 are fully open to traffic.
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UPDATE:
8:05 a.m. Thursday – Both lanes of Highway 550 are open again, though County Road 17 remains closed. The Colorado State Patrol has determined there was only one occupant of the vehicle, a Chevy sedan which is being recovered from the river this morning. The man’s identity has not been released, pending notification of kin by the Ouray County coroner.
The accident was reported at 4:41 a.m. by a passerby who saw tail lights in the river, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
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The Colorado State Patrol is investigating a fatal accident this morning, involving an upside-down vehicle in the Uncompahgre River north of Ouray.
CSP Sgt. Patrick Rice said the agency is still working to determine what happened in the accident, which is located near the intersection of County Road 17 and U.S. Highway 550, at the turn for the Whispering Pines neighborhood.
“Search and rescue has determined there is at least one person inside the vehicle,” said Rice.
According to Ouray County Undersheriff Tammy Stroup, County Road 17 is closed at the intersection with the highway and Highway 550 has one lane of alternating traffic at mile marker 96. The Colorado State Patrol will be handling the accident investigation but local law enforcement is securing the scene and assisting with traffic.
The road has been closed this morning for the emergency near the intersection of Highway 550 and County Road 17, near the Whispering Pines neighborhood.
Map courtesy CDOT
Ouray School is delaying its start time until 10 a.m. due to the closure.
There are no local detours available for the route, so anyone who can avoid traveling in the area until the road is reopened is asked to avoid the scene.
