On Sunday, December 14, 2025, the section of Highway 119 leading into Nederland was closed down to one lane and caution tape blocked local pedestrians from certain areas of Barker Meadows Park as several local emergency agencies gathered in the sand, preparing for a complicated recovery operation to pull a vehicle out of Barker Reservoir.
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The vehicle had crashed into the reservoir on December 8, some time after 6:30 p.m. The 37-year-old driver survived the accident with no injuries.
A team carts equipment from Barker Meadows Park to the shore of the reservoir.
Divers from Boulder Emergency Squad and Boulder Fire Dive Rescue suit up near the site of the sunken vehicle.
On Sunday morning, several local and state agencies, including Nederland Fire Protection District, Boulder County Sheriff's Office, and the Colorado Department of Transportation, coordinate for a special mission.
A team unloads equipment, preparing the steep and rocky shore for the staging of the operation.
Personnel and equipment were being continuously transported over to the site of the sunken vehicle from the shore of Barker Reservoir.
A total of four expert divers attached tow cables to the sunken vehicle.
The vehicle was pulled from the reservoir and towed up the cliffside by Reliable Towing.
Areas of the park and trails around Barker Reservoir were taped off, and Highway 119 went down to one lane from 9 am to 3 pm, due to the operation to remove a vehicle from the water.
NEDERLAND — On Sunday, December 14, 2025, the section of Highway 119 leading into Nederland was closed down to one lane and caution tape blocked local pedestrians from certain areas of Barker Meadows Park as several local emergency agencies gathered in the sand, preparing for a complicated recovery operation to pull a vehicle out of Barker Reservoir.
The vehicle reportedly had driven off Highway 119—at mile marker 26.6—at approximately 6:30 p.m. on December 8. The 37-year old driver was able to exit the vehicle and swim out of the reservoir; she was transported to the hospital where an evaluation determined that she had not sustained any injuries from the crash.
A sonar reconnaissance mission—a collaboration between Boulder Emergency Squad and BCSO Emergency Services—was delayed due to the 50- to 80-mile per hour breezes experienced over the days immediately following the accident, but commenced on December 12 and was successful in locating the vehicle.
The recovery operation began at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. After all the personnel from the seven different agencies were briefed on their mission, one team walked the trail along the reservoir to the area near the car’s location, while a second team took several trips by raft from shore to shore, offloading equipment and raking the rocky shore, staging the operation.
In coordination with Nederland Fire Protection District and Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), expert divers from BES and Boulder Fire Dive Rescue began getting suited up at the shore, while the team at the top of the hill, at the side of the highway, began clearing a few trees in preparation, and members from the Colorado Department of Transportation started directing traffic on 119.
After the divers had attached tow lines to the submerged vehicle, a truck from Reliable Towing slowly pulled the car out of the reservoir, up the steep cliff side, and safely secured onto the tow truck’s bed.
The operation was completed successfully, and Highway 119 was reopened back to two lanes, by 3 p.m.
