Surprised he didn't die of a heart attack.
Colorado National Monument (CO)
Van Recovered From Ledge Below Rim Rock Drive
On the night of Wednesday, January 21st, rangers and interagency law enforcement, fire, search and rescue personnel responded to a call for help from a Grand Junction man, Daniel Lyons, 34, who had driven his van off of Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument with the intent to commit suicide. The van got caught on a rock outcropping about 120 feet below Rim Rock Drive. Lyons had a cell phone and dialed 911 at 4:30 p.m. Through the efforts of some 60 rescue personnel and first responders, Lyons was safely extricated from the vehicle in the dark at 7:30 p.m. and transported via helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center in Grand Junction. He was hospitalized with minor injuries and is now in jail on felony charges. Last Thursday, park staff and personnel from the Giradi Crane and Rigging Company successfully recovered the 1987 Dodge van, which was still teetering on a rock ledge approximately 120 feet below the drive. Park staff were assisted by Mesa County technical search and rescue team members, a BLM incident safety officer, and an ambulance crew from Grand Junction Fire during the vehicle recovery operation. Crane company personnel used a 240-ton crane with a 97-foot boom. Both a man basket and a heavy weighted ball hook were used to rig the van before successfully lifting it out of Red Canyon. Portions of Rim Rock Drive were closed at 6:00 a.m. to allow the crane and vehicle convoy to begin to travel to Red Canyon. The crane arrived at the setup location at 7:00 a.m., then crane personnel spent another hour setting up the crane and its platform. Crane ground personnel and Mesa County technical search and rescue team members worked from a rock ledge to place safety lines and direct crane personnel descending in a man basket to chain the vehicle and ultimately to execute the recovery. The vehicle was pulled out of the canyon at 10:20 a.m. The crane and rest of the convoy vehicles left the park by 1:00 p.m. and Rim Rock Drive was reopened. A series of park photos are available to view or download from
www.nps.gov/colm on the photo gallery page. Other slide shows and video can be found at
www.gjsentinel.com, www.KJCT8.com ,
www.nbcnews11.com and
www.krex.com . [Submitted by Joan Anzelmo, Superintendent]
