LIBERTY – Weber County Sheriff’s Office is advising motorists to use caution while driving on steep, mountainous roads following a second accident on the North Ogden Divide in less than 24 hours. 

Officers were called to the divide at 10 a.m. Tuesday after a 20-year-old woman plunged a Jeep Liberty she was driving off the Liberty side of the divide, officers said. 

An early investigation indicates the brakes went out on the Jeep as it traveled northbound down the steep decline at a high rate of speed, officers said. 

The vehicle left the roadway near a sharp curve, went airborne for about 40 feet over a rocky ravine, and crashed into the trees below.

A passerby called in the accident and reported no one was moving inside the car. The  woman, who appeared to have been momentarily knocked unconscious upon impact, suffered serious injuries. She said she could not feel her legs and had pain in her chest. She was also having difficulty breathing. The airbags in the car had deployed but she may have hit the steering column. It was unknown if she was wearing a seatbelt, deputies said. 

The woman was transported by AirMed to a local hospital. Her current condition is unknown. The Jeep, which sustained significant frontend damage, had to be towed from the scene. The accident is still under investigation and no citations have been issued at this time.

This is the second accident in less than 24 hours that deputies have responded to on the divide where a vehicle has gone off of the edge. On Monday, a woman intentionally drove her truck off the road in a failed suicide attempt.

Deputies are advising motorists to always travel at the posted speeds when conditions allow, downshift to a lower gear, and don’t continuously ride the brakes on the declines.

Contact reporter Loretta Park at 801-625-4252 or lpark@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @LorettaParkSE.