Teen hurt in Pikes Peak plunge

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ” A 17-year-old boy is being treated for undisclosed injuries after driving his car off Pikes Peak Highway near the summit and plunging approximately 1,000 feet.

Steve Sperry of El Paso County Search and Rescue says the teen drove off the northwest edge of the summit at about 1 p.m. Wednesday, while traveling about 35 mph.

The car landed in an area commonly known as the “Bottomless Pit,” ejecting the boy.

It took crews two helicopters and more than eight hours to rescue the boy. He was flown by Chinook helicopter to Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, because the chopper was too large to land at Memorial Hospital.

Police say the incident was a suicide attempt stemming from a relationship between the boy and his girlfriend that had recently ended.