Semi slams into six vehicles in south Aurora; six injured
Aurora – One person was in critical condition late Sunday and five others were in serious condition after a tractor-trailer plowed into six vehicles at South Parker and East Arapahoe roads at 5:45 p.m.
One person was airlifted to a hospital.
The driver of the semi may have run a red light, said Aurora police Lt. Rob McGregor. The semi was southbound on South Parker when it attempted a left-hand turn onto East Arapahoe, McGregor said.
The semi came to rest blocking all northbound lanes. The intersection remained closed late Sunday as police continued to investigate.
LARIMER COUNTY
Longmont motorist dies in two-car crash
Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine the cause of a two-vehicle accident that left a Longmont man dead Saturday night.
Patrick Hegland, 49, was transporting horses and mules behind a Ford pickup on Colorado 14 near mile marker 100 when the accident occurred, according to the Larimer County coroner.
Hegland was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner later determined the cause of death to be massive head and neck injuries due to the collision.
Information about the driver of the second vehicle was not available.
None of the animals involved were reported to have suffered severe injuries, according to the report.
TELLURIDE
Some oppose 10-year permit for heli-skiers
A Telluride heli-ski company’s request to fly in skiers to the backcountry around Silverton has drawn complaints from residents who don’t like the noise and from skiers who hike up to the same terrain.
Telluride Helitrax applied for a 10-year permit to use Bureau of Land Management holdings north and east of Silverton to drop off and pick up skiers. The company has received one-year permits since 1995.
Keith Roush, owner of Durango-based Pine Needle Mountaineering, said he and his friends like to hike into the backcountry for skiing, but heli- skiers often have “tracked up the terrain” by the time he can go up for a second or third run.
“It’s not much of a wilderness experience because there’s no longer any powder,” Roush said.
Telluride Helitrax program director John Humphries said the concern of protesters is overblown. He said the business is weather-dependent and operates an average of only five to 10 days a year around Silverton.
Nicole Barr, a property manager and skier who lives in Silverton, said heli-skiers aren’t as obnoxious as snowmobilers when it comes to noise and tracking up fresh powder.
“But 10 years is a long period for a permit,” Barr said. “It would be better to keep them under rein.”
The BLM was accepting public comments until Sept. 29 on the proposed 10-year permit.
DENVER
Retired Post writer receives accolade
Fred Brown, retired Denver Post columnist and the paper’s former Capitol bureau chief, was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists with the Wells Memorial Key, the organization’s highest award.
The Wells Memorial Key is given to a member for outstanding service to the society during the preceding year or over a period of years.
Brown is co-chairman of the SPJ Ethics Committee. Brown was one of the authors of the revisions to the SPJ Code of Ethics, the industry standard, in 1996.
“As an officer, board member and ethics committee chair, he championed professionalism at every turn, led at every key occasion and quietly reminded everyone who would listen of the importance of ethics,” wrote Paul McMasters, SPJ past president, in his nomination.
Brown was nominated by 12 past presidents of the society. He was the national president of SPJ in 1997-98. He also has been the Region 9 director and president of the Colorado Pro chapter and is currently on the board of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.
Brown has received the Journalist of the Year and the Board of Directors awards from the SPJ Colorado Pro chapter. He has won the Sigma Delta Chi national award for editorial writing and was inducted into the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame.
LITTLETON
Dead mountain lion found on train tracks
A mountain lion found dead on railroad tracks just south of West Mineral Avenue on Friday morning is believed to have been hit by a train, Littleton police said.
Police are uncertain if the adult, female lion weighing about 70 pounds is the same animal seen several weeks ago near the town of Bow Mar 5 miles to the northwest, said Sgt. Sean Dugan.
Union Pacific Railroad officials reported the lion lying on the tracks at 9 a.m. Friday, apparently hit by a southbound train earlier in the morning, Dugan said.
