A 17-year-old Michigan girl died Thursday when she was hit by a falling rock about 4 p.m. in downtown Estes Park near Town Hall.
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Audra Brownell of Sparta, Mich.
She died at the scene, the Larimer County Coroner’s Office said. An autopsy ruled the death an accident caused by “multiple blunt force trauma.”
Brownell’s family, reached by telephone in Michigan, declined comment.
“The police department is interviewing numerous witnesses and are working around the clock to investigate the death,” said Kate Rusch, an Estes Park spokeswoman.
The incident happened in a town “green space” in a grassy area with a creek running through it, Rusch said. A cliff, also part of the public parcel, rises above the open space. The area is off the northeast corner of parking lot of Town Hall.
The top of the park, where the rock outcropping peaks, is an area known as Willow Knolls, Rusch said.
The town’s “civil engineer is assessing the safety of the area,” Rusch said. The area is open today.
Rusch couldn’t estimate the size of the rock or say whether the rock fell on its own or another person was somehow involved.
She declined to release any information about the victm other than to say her family was notified last night.
“The community is devastated by this tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim,” Estes Park Mayor Bill Pinkham said in a statement. “Our police department is working around the clock to sort out the details of the incident.”
The town’s police department referred questions about the death to town officials.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
