Construction vehicle driver's body recovered after overnight search at Gross Reservoir

Jun. 18—On Saturday rescue divers recovered the body of the driver of a construction vehicle that rolled into Gross Reservoir near the dam between Boulder and Nederland.

The Boulder County Communications Center got a call about 12:30 a.m. Saturday about a possible vehicle crash near the Gross Reservoir Dam. The person reporting said they saw the headlights of a vehicle rolling down an embankment near the dam.

First responders found an obvious crash site and closed the reservoir to begin search-and-rescue efforts. A Northern Colorado Med Evac helicopter was requested to fly over the area with a spotlight to help identify areas to narrow the search.

After reconnaissance, search teams set out with boats and a dive team to locate the driver, but were unable to do so. The shoreline was also searched in case the driver had made it to shore.

The search then transitioned from rescue to recovery mode.

Sonar operations were set up to determine the depth of the truck in the water to aid additional operations to take place during daylight hours. Scanning determined the vehicle, a dump truck, was in water up to 43 feet at the deepest point.

Recovery crews returned to the scene, and rescue divers were able to access the cab of the dump truck to recover the driver, who was declared deceased.

Identification of the driver, as well as the cause and manner of death, will be determined by the Boulder County Coroner's Office.

Agencies responding to the incident were the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Boulder Fire-Rescue, Boulder Emergency Squad, Colorado State Patrol, American Medical Response, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Coal Creek Fire Protection District, Denver Water, Northern Colorado Med Evac, Kiewit-Barnard Joint Venture and the Boulder County Coroner's Office.

Questions regarding the crash investigation should be directed to the Colorado State Patrol at 303-239-4583.