Hearse Driver Saved By Dead Body After Crashing, Teetering On Cliff

Newly obtained footage shows the scene of an accident in which a dead boy being transported by a hearse for medical donation apparently saved the life of the vehicle's driver after crashing and teetering on a cliff in Colorado earlier this year.

CBS Colorado recently obtained video footage from the scene through a public records request from the state patrol. The driver was traveling on Interstate 70 in Colorado at around 3:00 a.m. on January 27 when he said he was driven off the road by an aggressive driver.

The hearse, which was transporting the body from Hubbard and Son's funeral home service in Grand Junction for organ donation, switched lanes to avoid the erratic driver and lost control, which led to the vehicle crashing through a barrier on the edge of the road and teetering over the side of the highway before coming to a stop with its front wheels hanging over the canyon.

Police at the scene said they suspected the weight from the body inside a coffin in the back likely stopped the hearse from falling over the ledge and saved the driver's life.

"That's a lucky mother*****r right there," a responding officer said while observing the nearby vehicle dangling over the ledge at the time.

Cheryl Talley, director of communications for Donor Alliance, was unable to provide a specific comment on the case, but credited all organ donors for having done something spectacular to help others in need.

"Being an organ donor and registering as an organ donor is the most generous thing that somebody can do, is giving the gift of life to somebody who has no chance at a life without that possible transplant," Talley said via CBS News.