Boulder on I-70 at Palisade causes 3-car wreck; 3 hurt
Palisade – A boulder weighing more than 300 pounds rolled down a slope onto Interstate 70 outside town, injuring three people and damaging three cars.
A black Ford Ranger pickup struck the boulder about 8:45 p.m. Saturday, rolled once and landed on its side, Palisade Fire Chief Richard Rupp said.
A Ford Windstar van then hit the boulder, bending the van’s left front wheel.
A Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Heidi Reese then hit the van.
“I saw the first car flip and saw the next car swerve but couldn’t miss (the rock),” said Reese, 23.
The driver of the pickup and two people in the van were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction with minor injuries, Rupp said.
Rock slides are unusual for that area, although they are common this time of year along parts of I-70, Rupp said.
DENVER
Illness postpones Aerosmith concert
Aerosmith, which was scheduled to perform tonight at the Pepsi Center, has postponed its concert because of an unspecified band illness.
The show has been rescheduled for April 12.
Tickets for tonight’s concert will be honored at the later show, or refunds are available at the point of purchase.
GOLDEN
Man treated after he was found shot at bar
Golden police are seeking help with their investigation into the shooting of a 43-year- old Golden man who collapsed inside Susie’s Bar and Grill, 17999 W. Colfax Ave., about 5:45 p.m. Sunday.
When police arrived at Susie’s, they found the victim with a single gunshot to his chest, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment, police spokesman Ryan Custer said in a statement.
Officers found a .22-caliber rifle in the bed of the man’s pickup in the parking lot, and they found a .22-caliber shell casing nearby, Custer said.
Detectives are investigating the possibility that the wound was self-inflicted, but they haven’t ruled out an assault, Custer said. Anyone with information is asked to call 303-384-8045.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Rabbi urges unity for Jews, Christians
A rabbi told members of Colorado’s largest church Sunday that both Israel and the post- Sept. 11 United States are threatened in today’s world and that Jews and Christians need to “reverse history” and support one another.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, told the congregation of New Life Church: “We have the opportunity today, I would say the obligation and the responsibility, to extend love, true love toward one another.”
Eckstein’s Chicago group has raised $50 million for charities helping Jews worldwide.
He was invited to speak at the 11,000-member church by Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, to mark a day of solidarity between Christians and Israel.
JULESBURG
Charges dropped for S.D. man in death
Authorities in Sedgwick County have dropped all charges against a South Dakota man initially charged with murder in the drug overdose of a friend.
There is not enough evidence to file charges against Michael R. Hughes, 26, according to a district attorney’s order.
Investigators initially said Hughes did not call for medical help soon enough when his friend died in a Sedgwick County motel.
At the time, a sheriff’s deputy questioned Hughes and told him he was free to go. After he returned to Sioux Falls, the Sedg wick County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant accusing him of first-degree murder.
Several days later, the district attorney’s office said that the murder allegation was a mistake and that Hughes would be charged with different crimes, but prosecutors did not file charges after Hughes was extradited to Colorado last week.
GRAND JUNCTION
House bill proposes out-of-state wine sales
Some out-of-state wine enthusiasts would be able to have wine shipped from their favorite Colorado vineyards under a bill in the state legislature.
Current law allows out-of- state residents to buy wine directly from a Colorado vineyard only when visiting the business or while at a wine festival. Vintners say the law slows business to potential customers who live outside Colorado.
House Bill 1120 also would require out-of-state wineries to purchase a permit to ship their wine to consumers in Colorado.
