'It's A Miracle To Be Alive': Family Survives Avalanche
DENVER (CBS4)- One family is thankful to be alive after being caught in an avalanche on Highway 91 that buried their vehicle under snow. Sergio and Karla Reyes were with their 2-year-old Vanessa when they left Leadville for Denver on Thursday.
"It's a miracle to be alive," said Sergio.
There was little visibility about an hour into their drive.
"We didn't think it was that big of an avalanche at first," said Karla.
Barely traveling 20 mph, they decided to stop because it was too hard to see. That's when the avalanche hit!
"We turned back and the whole back seats were full of snow... covered my daughter, we couldn't see her," said Karla. "I was freaking out, I didn't know how to act."
"He couldn't see Vanessa so he was digging and digging. I was panicking because I couldn't take my seat belt off."
The snow shattered a window and snow filled the truck.
"I was nervous, she was really nervous, scared obviously because we thought she wasn't alive," said Karla.
They finally heard their daughter and were able to get everyone out of the truck, thanks to help from a stranger who was also stranded by the avalanche.
"I'm very thankful for him for what he did, for helping us," said Karla. "I'm very thankful and god bless him and his family."
All three survived the avalanche with only minor scratches.
In the past week, Colorado has seen more than 300 avalanches with a level of danger not seen in decades that ranks five on a scale of one to five.