Meter reader just doing his job when he found accident victim

Matt Hildner

Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — Every month for the last two and a half years, Jon Roland has made a trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

His trip to the park where he reads the electricity meter at the visitor’s center is a perk and the last stop on a route that takes him through rural Montrose County as part of his job for SBS Inspections.

On Jan. 29, Roland, 28, made a stop at the Tomichi Point overlook to use the restroom before driving home to Cedaredge. That’s when Roland’s day took a turn from the ordinary.

“As soon as I pulled in there, I saw the broken fence,” he said. “Right away alarm bells started going off.”

The hole in the fence marked the spot where earlier that afternoon Praveen Daniel, a 32-year old tourist from the Chicago area, went over the side of the overlook in his rental car.

It was Roland who ventured nearly 500 feet down the side of the ravine to confirm the accident and notify park officials just as they were readying to head home for the evening.

“I think it was pretty timely,” said Steve Winslow, a district ranger at the park, who helped lead the ensuing rescue that lasted four hours and included 29 personnel.

Upon seeing the hole in the fence, Roland immediately started making his way down the side of the steep, snow-covered ravine to see exactly what had happened.

“I probably slipped three or four times because it was so steep,” he said.

Roland found the 2007 Kia lodged between a tree and the ravine wall with steam coming off the radiator.

“When I got there, (Daniel) was still in the driver’s seat. I couldn’t believe it.”

The airbags that deployed during the crash prevented Roland from seeing Daniel’s face.

Daniel was conscious but incoherent.

“I asked him if there was anyone with him and he just kind of trailed off,” Roland said. “At that point I realized he was alive. I know CPR and basic first aid, but I realized he was going to need a lot more than that to get out of there.”

Roland then raced back up the side of the canyon, reverting to four-point crawling to keep from falling.

“I couldn’t make my legs go fast enough because it was so steep and slippery,” he said.

In all, Roland estimated he spent ten minutes getting down to the accident and back up before heading back to the ranger station to tell them about the accident.

Roland went home that night and watched the news of the accident on TV and he followed later reports of Daniel’s release from the hospital.

“It was a good feeling to hear that he was recovering,” Roland said.

The day after the accident, Roland went to work as usual.

Only when someone from the Delta-Montrose Electric Association called SBS after being contacted by the park, did Roland’s co-workers find out about his efforts.

Roland, who moved to Colorado more than five years ago from the East Coast, balked at the attention, though he was glad to have lent a hand.

“To me, it was just somebody needed help and I just happened to be the one.”

Contact Matt Hildner via e-mail at matth@montrosepress.com