Families and friends are mourning two Denver-area residents who drowned in a rafting accident on the Arkansas River on Tuesday.
The victims — Jimmy Nakama, 40, of Littleton, and Thomas Spicknall, 36, of Centennial — had no rafting experience but were accompanied by a co-worker who described himself as a veteran rafter who had crossed the rapids where the accident occurred several times, according to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.
That co-worker, David Buckley, 42, of Franktown, and a fourth member of the group, Abigail Dodson, 26, of Englewood, both survived.
“Jimmy died going on what he thought was a recreational float trip with an old friend whom he trusted,” Nakama’s family said in a statement. “He trusted him with his life, and now he’s gone.”
A man who answered a cellphone listed as Buckley’s refused to comment.
All four rafters were employees of Emergency Medical Services Corp. in Greenwood Village. EMSC staff are taking the men’s deaths hard, said Doug Moore, the public-relations manager.
Both men worked in information technology, Nakama for 12 years and Spicknall for eight years, Moore said.
Grief counselors were brought to the company’s offices Wednesday morning.
Nakama’s relatives described him as “the center of a small but close family.”
“His death has left a terrible hole in the center of all our lives,” their statement said.
A soccer and baseball coach, Nakama was born in Littleton and graduated from the University of Colorado. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen, and two children, Emmitt, 12, and Eva, 9.
Spicknall’s sister, Suzan Stewart, told 9News that her brother was her best friend.
“He was so young, it’s just not fair,” she said.
The accident occurred about noon Tuesday. Shortly after putting their raft in the river, the group hit severe rapids in the Pine Creek section and Spicknall and Nakama were thrown from the raft, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Dodson and Buckley pulled Spicknall from the river. He was unconscious, so they performed CPR. Nakama was found 7 miles downstream.
Chaffee County coroner Randy Amettis said both men drowned. They were not wearing helmets but did not have head injuries. All four rafters were wearing life vests, said the Sheriff’s Office.
At the time of the accident, the Class 5 Pine Creek rapids were flowing almost 600 cubic feet a second faster than the 1,250-cubic-feet-a-second limit recommended by Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area for rafting that area.
Nakama’s family echoed the warnings. “Don’t maximize excitement at the expense of safety. It’s dangerous,” their statement said.
