Hearse carrying a body comes to a rest ‘teetering’ over a 100-foot embankment after sliding off I-70 near Silverthorne | SummitDaily.com
YOUR AD HERE »

Hearse carrying a body comes to a rest ‘teetering’ over a 100-foot embankment after sliding off I-70 near Silverthorne

No one was hurt in the overnight incident, but it made for a "creepy" scene, according to Summit Fire & EMS.

Around 3 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, a hearse carrying a body for medical donation slid off Interstate 70 near mile marker 212.
Summit Fire & EMS/Courtesy photo

A hearse that slid off Interstate 70 in snowy conditions stopped just shy of tipping over a ledge, with its front wheels hanging in the air at around 3 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, according to Summit Fire & EMS.

“Okay, file this one under: ‘You’ll never believe it,’” the fire and rescue agency quipped in a Facebook post.

After going off the road near mile marker 212 between Silverthorne and the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, the hearse, which was carrying a body for medical donation, “came to rest teetering over a 100-foot-high embankment,” according to the post.



The driver declined medical attention and transport. But, Summit Fire & EMS joked in the post: “If the ‘passenger’ hadn’t already been dead, this surely would have done it.”

Summit Fire & EMS spokesperson Steve Lipsher said the responding crews stabilized the vehicle so it didn’t tip over the ledge while waiting for a tow truck. Silverthorne police also assisted.



In the Facebook post, the fire and rescue group praised the decision for medical donation, saying it could save someone’s life, and apologized if any offense was caused by their “irreverence.”

“We like to share these bright moments as well,” Lipsher said. Though, even he acknowledged in the post that the scene — a black hearse against the swirling white snow, hanging over a steep ledge in the dead of night — was more “creepy” than bright.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.