Man Rolls Jeep Wrangler Down a Mountain and Lives

His Wrangler may be trashed, but things could’ve turned out much worse.

Put what happened to this JK, which went down a mountain the hard(est) way, in the “Worst Things to Do in a Jeep Wrangler” category along with coming across an “Off-Roading Prohibited” sign and having the hardtop off when it starts pouring down rain.

In the video above, the crew from the volunteer team known as Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery are driving up the Radical Hill trail south of Montezuma, Colorado when they come across a JK Wrangler that seems to have taken the nastiest of spills down the rocky terrain. It takes some creative winching and pulling, more than 10 hours of work, and some donated parts to get the mangled heap off of the trail.

Luckily, the driver, Ken McCoy, was able to walk away from the disaster. According to his Facebook post about the wreck, he’s got two broken ribs, a gash on his forehead, a fractured nose, and cuts and bruises. His dog Barbie also survived and came out of all of the destruction with broken toe nails and cuts and scratches.

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McCoy’s ill-fated day started well enough. He was wheeling up the mountain with three other Jeep owners. By the time he reached a cabin near the top, he and Barbie were by themselves. A storm was brewing in the distance.

McCoy said, “We had only about 1/2 mile left before reaching the very top and intersecting at Montezuma road and at the time seemed like the easier of paths to get off the mountain before the storm came over. While traveling up the trail around several switchbacks, the trail at the top created a rock slide under the back right tire pulling the jeep down the steep incline. The Jeep flipped straight backwards and rolled several times before ejecting me straight out the top. I was basically parallel in air with the hood. And yes I had my seat beat on…but it somehow failed which apparently in this case was a good thing. The next few seconds are a blur of impacts and flips before landing face down on the mountain side and catching myself from falling any further.”

McCoy was able to recover some water bottles and a sandwich he had brought with him. Even his laptop bag lived through the carnage. Eventually, two fellows named Joshua and Rico helped get McCoy off the mountain. He may no longer have his Wrangler, but he’s got a helluva story to tell.

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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