By Katharhynn Heidelberg

Highway 145 was the scene of a dramatic rescue late Tuesday morning.

A Rico resident known at the scene only as "Coyote" was reportedly taking an acquaintance’s dog to the veterinarian when the accident occurred.

According to rescue personnel, the man had glanced briefly away from the road to check on the dog, when he lost control of the Honda he was driving.

While attempting to regain control, he overcompensated for the curve, and ran off the road.

The vehicle’s front wheel partially caught a culvert on the opposite side of the road, which sent it into the air about four feet, according to Trooper Keller of the Colorado State Patrol.

The vehicle then rolled 3/4 of a time, and struck a tree, "bending like a banana." It came to a rest on its top, trapping the unbelted driver.

Fortunately, the car stopped well short of the embankment that plunged sharply downward to the Dolores River.

In spite of being pinned upside down in an object bearing more resemblance to a crushed soda can than a car, the victim was conscious when rescue teams responded to the scene, and complained of lower back pain along with initial loss of sensation in his legs.

According to Rico rescue unit staff member Kim Jones, the victim later reported that sensation seemed to be returning.

It took the personnel of Dolores Volunteer Fire Department, Rico Volunteer Fire Department and EMTs of Southwest Memorial Hospital over an hour from time of notification to extricate the victim from the wreckage.

The jaws of life and cribbing were necessary to saw through the driver’s side door, steering wheel, and to elevate the smashed vehicle enough to free the driver.

Additional help was necessary to control traffic, which eventually came to a halt to allow for the departure of emergency vehicles.

Keller said that, upon transfer to a Southwest Memorial Hospital Ambulance, the man was airlifted out of the area. A hospital staff member confirmed that he had been flown to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, N.M.

According to the Rico Sun-Times, the victim’s name is Coyote Mahaffy. As of press time, neither the hospital nor the State Patrol were able to confirm the victim’s legal identity.

Keller did opine, however, that the driver had been "lucky...(it) could have been worse. Had the vehicle hit top-side rather than bottom, it probably would have killed him."