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Article Published: Monday, August 09, 2004
Trail wreck kills couple

Springs family's SUV rolls down mountain; 2 children injured

By Jim Kirksey Chi-Chi Zhang and Brenda Duran
Denver Post Staff Writers





Colorado Springs - A Colorado Springs couple were killed and their son and a friend were seriously injured when their Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled off a mountain trail on Colorado's Western Slope.
Daniel Gluklick, 50, and his wife, Jeanine, 47, died at the scene Saturday when their sport-utility vehicle rolled about 800 feet down a mountain, said Sgt. Lawrence Oletski of the Colorado State Patrol.

Cole Gluklick, 11, and Ian Nordstrom, a boy whose age wasn't available, suffered multiple injuries and were airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction.

All four were ejected as the Jeep went down the embankment, according to the accident report. None were wearing seat belts, Oletski said.

The accident happened on Forest Service Road 869 on Imogene Pass, about 3 1/2 miles east of Telluride, Oletski said. The pass is 12,000 feet in altitude.


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Gluklick was in critical condition and Nordstrom was said to be in serious but stable condition Sunday.

The initial investigation has ruled out weather, speed and alcohol consumption as possible causes of the accident.

"At this point it looks like unfamiliarity with the road," Oletski said.

Edward Gluklick, Daniel's father, said his son was an experienced trail driver. It was an activity the family did a lot, he said at his Michigan home.

"He was a very skilled driver," the elder Gluklick said of his son. "Something really strange and unusual must have happened for him to lose control."

Edward Gluklick said Daniel did classified work for the military and worked on cars in his spare time.

The couple have two teenage daughters, Edward Gluklick said. He identified them as Corinne, 18, and Chloe, 15.

"He was very much an asset in everything he set out to do, and he was my best friend as well as my son," Edward Gluklick said.

He described his daughter-in-law as "absolutely delightful" and "a wonderful mother."

The news came as a shock to close neighbors of the family.

Bob and Cindy Sabol said the small acreage Gluklick lived on in the Black Forest area didn't have a house on it when the family moved in about eight years ago.

They lived in a garage, heated with a wood stove, cooked on a Coleman stove and divided the single room with sheets for a year while they built their home, Bob Sabol said.

Neighbors kiddingly called them "the pioneers."

They had horses, dogs and goats. Jeanine Gluklick raised Cashmere goats competitively and sold the wool locally.

Jeanine also ran a small day-care out of her home, and the boy with them in the accident was a youngster she had cared for since he was an infant, Cindy Sabol said.

The Gluklick's were described as "a strong family unit" that often participated in activities together.



Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com .

Geez! Jack, is this a "normal" thing? This kinda accident in the mountains? Or is it an odd year for it?

Sundance from Denver sent both of those to me. Black Bear/Imogene loop is one of the big draws for the San Juans. Don't know if he is just starting to send them to me or if the paper in Denver is just starting to report them.

There are other trails that have bad crashes on them. Took me years to get over Schofield. I was told every time I checked it was snowed closed. It wasn't but folks were being told it was. One guy in a Surbaban got out to take a picture up above the Devils punch bowl and forgot to put the tranny in park. He watched his family go off the shelf road in the truck. Another spot on down a guy from my area went off with his wife and two daughters. A few years ago after a few of the RRORC group went up Blanca a guy went over up on one of the Jaws and was killed.

But there are bad wrecks on highways also. Just hope folks will remember a few of these and take care.

I was kinda suprised they weren`t wearing seatbelts. Wonder if they really would`ve helped.

I've been in two ejection accidents on the street. Both times I would have been killed if I hadn't been thrown clear. But I was lucky and that's some of the reason I move so slow now. Without a head restraint system I would think your chances of surviving a 800ft tumble inside a vehicle would be very slim. But then so are your chances of being thrown clear.