Police found a man dead who had been struck by a freight train at 4:30 a.m. Thursday near West Yale Avenue and South Santa Fe Drive, Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
A cause of death had not been determined, and it was not immediately clear if the man died by accident of if he committed suicide.
The identity of the man was not known late Thursday.
The railroad corridor is used by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific and RTD light rail.
Because investigators were working near the tracks, Regional Transportation District light-rail trains were slowed near the scene.
RTD spokesman Scott Reed said the trains managed to stay on schedule Thursday morning.
DENVER
Gun-permit change among bills signed
A bill that tightens the state’s concealed-weapons-permits law and another measure that extends benefits to firefighters with certain types of cancer were among a group of 16 bills signed Thursday by Gov. Bill Ritter.
Senate Bill 34 closes a loophole that let Coloradans who didn’t want to work through their local sheriff use concealed- weapons permits from other states.
House Bill 1008 extends the burden of proof in workers’ compensation claims in favor of firefighters who contract certain cancers linked to toxics they are exposed to on the job.
Ritter has signed 272 bills and vetoed two from the 2007 legislative session, and 200 bills are pending with a June 4 deadline, according to a news release.
For a complete list of the bills signed Thursday, go to denverpost.com.
GRAND JUNCTION
Fake $100 bills lead to the arrest of four
Four people accused of making counterfeit $100 bills in a motel room have been arrested on forgery and theft charges.
Police said they found counterfeiting equipment and bogus bills in the motel room Tuesday.
Arrested were Katy Lee Christian, 21, of Rangely; Robert Paul Blake, 29, of Carlsbad, Calif.; Nathan Allen Bothwell, 29, of Oceanside, Calif.; and Aaron Michael Mendez, 23, of Vista, Calif.
Christian’s bail was set at $7,500 during a hearing Wednesday.
Bail for the other suspects ranged from $20,000 to $50,000.
Arrest warrant affidavits said that four fake $100 bills had been used at a department store and that the store manager had identified the three men as the people who used them.
Christian’s father, Mark Slawson of Rangely, said his daughter told him she knew nothing about the alleged forgery.
The affidavits said a manager or employee of the motel called police after he found the counterfeiting equipment when he was checking to see whether guests were checking out.
GREELEY
Suspect in punter’s stabbing cooperative
Police and university officials testified Thursday in Weld County District Court that Mitch Cozad was polite and cooperative while being investigated in the stabbing of the starting punter on the University of Northern Colorado football team.
Cozad, from Wheatland, Wyo., allegedly stabbed Rafael Mendoza on Sept. 11 in a bid to win Mendoza’s starting job on the football team.
Cozad is accused of attempted first-degree murder, and his trial is scheduled for July 30. He is free on $500,000 bail.
Thursday’s hearing was to determine whether any statements made by Cozad before his arrest should be kept out of his trial.
Nathan Cole, a housing official for UNC, testified Cozad “was very respectful and cordial” after Cole told him he would be kicked out of his dorm because of the allegations.
Evans police Officer Dan Ranous, one of the first officers to talk to Cozad after the attack, also testified that Cozad was cooperative.
“He was very polite and very comfortable speaking with me,” Ranous said.
Thursday’s hearing will resume June 8 in Weld County District Court.
LARIMER COUNTY
Child seriously hurt in driveway accident
A 2-year-old Larimer County boy suffered serious injuries Wednesday night after he stepped in front of his mother’s vehicle in the driveway of their Rist Canyon home, officials said.
Eli Wolf was hit by a vehicle driven by his mother, Shannon Wolf, as she pulled into the driveway, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Eli was taken to a nearby landing zone, then airlifted to The Children’s Hospital.
Alcohol, drugs and speed are not suspected to be contributing factors in the accident, the patrol said.
MOAB
Energy Dept. pressed to clean up tailings
The radioactive sludge sitting near the Colorado River outside Moab would have to be cleaned up by 2019, years earlier than proposed by the Energy Department, under an amendment approved by the House.
The amendment, which was to a defense bill, passed by a voice vote Wednesday night.
It would require the uranium tailings to be moved nine years sooner than the latest estimate by the government.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, like other state officials, has long pushed for the government to clean up the 16-million-ton pile, a major concern for millions of people across the West who depend on the Colorado River for drinking water.
The job was supposed to be done by 2012, but Energy Department officials this year said the target now is 2028, based on the agency’s budget. Matheson said he was frustrated by what he considers inadequate responses about the delay.
RIVERTON, Wyo.
Airport seeks return of larger planes
The Riverton Regional Airport Board has been discussing with Great Lakes Aviation the possibility of resuming flights here by the carrier’s larger planes.
The Cheyenne-based carrier stopped flying the 30-seat Brasilia turboprop planes to Riverton in October. Flights now are being made by 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft.
Great Lakes officials said they stopped flying the larger planes to Riverton because they’re more expensive to operate.
But Jim Matson, chairman of the Riverton Regional Airport Board, said the airport gets enough use to justify the 30-seat planes.
Matson also pointed out that Great Lakes recently increased its fleet of Brasilia planes.
Matson said he was encouraging airport manager Bill Urbigkit to ask other carriers, like Sky West or Big Sky, if they might be willing to fly larger planes to Riverton.
