A Good Samaritan drowned yesterday in Mesa County after diving into a swimming hole to help a friend who was struggling to escape a powerful current.
Stephen F. Burns II, 19, of Littleton, drowned at the “potholes” on the Little Dolores River in Glade Park on Saturday morning.
Burns, who attended Arapahoe Community College, was camping at the park with friends when a woman he knew jumped into the water and was seized by the current, Wendy Tipton, a family friend said Sunday.
“Stevie jumped in and helped pull her to the shore and handed her off to another friend and the current was too strong for him and he perished,” Tipton said.
Burns and his friends, including the woman he saved, were Columbine High School graduates who had camped at the park each year at this time since 2006.
Burns’ friends administered CPR for about 30 minutes before emergency responders arrived at the swimming hole in an area known locally as the “potholes.”
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“That kid, he always had a smile, he always had a hug for everybody,” Tipton said.
Tom McGhee: (303)954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
