OURAY – An elderly female was air-lifted to a Grand Junction hospital after being involved in a two-passenger all-terrain vehicle rollover accident near the top Imogene Pass on the Ouray County side on Thursday afternoon, July 5.

The woman, who was described by witnesses as to have been in her early 70s, was brought off the mountain in the back of a Ouray County EMS SUV and was flown to Grand Junction via a Care-Flight helicopter around 3:30 p.m. The accident happened around noon; the extent of her injuries was not immediately known other than she reportedly lost consciousness. It was unclear if she was wearing a helmet.

“I got there five minutes after it happened,” said off-roader Tom Voelz of Albuquerque, who was on his way to Telluride, but back-tracked because the accident scene had the road blocked. “She wasn’t bleeding, nor did she have any physical signs of trauma, but, I imagine she has a concussion.”

Voelz said he was the third passer-by on-scene and stayed roughly an hour after the accident happened.

He also said the male companion was injured “holding his ribs and left wrist.” It’s unclear if the man, who Voelz thought was the driver of the ATV, was transported to a hospital.

According to Voelz, the accident occurred near the top of the pass on a steep, rock-faced incline section of the road. The ATV rolled backwards and “landed in a snowfield a ways down,” Voelz said.

Responding were the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, Ouray County EMS medics, Ouray County Sheriff Dominic “Junior” Mattivi and deputies Ty Cox and Matt Taramarcaz.

Further updates on this accident will be posted when they become available.