Busy holiday weekend keeps law enforcement officers on their toes

“Extreme distances”

The Fourth of July weekend, like many holidays, is usually a busy time for local law enforcement. But there were more crimes, injuries and accidents during the past Fourth of July weekend than usual.

Gunnison County undersheriff Rick Besecker says, “This was probably the busiest fourth and fifth of July I can remember, and we’ve had some busy ones in the past.”
Besecker says one of the challenges was a large number of accidents spread out all over the county, “The boys had to go some extreme distances and deal with some serious things,” Besecker says.
Since last Thursday the sheriffs, Colorado State Patrol and other local law enforcement agencies have been called to assist with five major traffic accidents—one on Monarch Pass involving two fatalities.
According to a State Patrol accident blotter, on July 5 at 9:45 a.m. troopers responded to a five-vehicle crash on Monarch Pass near mile marker 194.
A 1983 Toyota Dolphin RV had crossed the centerline before swerving and striking two westbound cars and then striking an eastbound 2009 Nissan Altima head-on. A fifth vehicle was hit with debris and the driver was uninjured.
The driver and only passenger of the RV, 79-year-old Ray Stout of Montrose, and the driver of the Nissan, 68-year-old Miguel Solis of El Paso, Texas, were both pronounced dead on scene. The passenger in the Nissan, Felipa Solis, was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. The occupants in the two other vehicles were unharmed. All of the people were wearing their seatbelts.
The crash caused the closure of Highway 50 for several hours and is still under investigation.
There was a one-car roll-over on Cottonwood Pass on July 4 that caused some minor injuries. Besecker says it could have been a much more serious situation, as the passengers were a family with two kids. While assisting the family, the sheriffs also pulled over a man on Cottonwood Pass who had been drinking before driving. The man was within the legal limit, but was driving with a suspended license.
 There was also a one-car rollover on Highway 114 near Sillsville on Monday, involving an SUV, four passengers and minor injuries.
On Monday, there was a three-car accident on Kebler Pass. Mt. Crested Butte police chief Hank Smith says all of the cars were heavily damaged, including doors getting ripped of off two different cars, a radiator that fell out and lots of debris. Again, none of the passengers were seriously injured. The police were notified by the OnStar emergency system.
On Tuesday, July 7 on Highway 50 outside the city of Gunnison, a motorcycle rider was struck by a vehicle and the driver fled. The motorcycle rider was air lifted out to Montrose General Hospital with severe internal injuries, but is in stable condition. The man who fled the scene was chased down and arrested by the Gunnison County Sheriffs.
There were also two minor gun accidents in the last week. On July 3 near Taylor Park, a 41-year old-man accidentally shot himself in the hand while cleaning his .22 caliber handgun, which he thought was unloaded. According to a police report the injury was not too serious.
Two days later on July 5, a 15-year-old female from New Castle was accidentally shot in the leg at Stevens Creek Campground. According to the sheriffs, a backpack that contained the weapon was dropped on the ground and the gun discharged. The gun was legally possessed and the young woman’s leg was not seriously injured.
Besecker says having two gun-related accidents in a row is strange. “Gunshot wounds are always notable because they don’t occur very often, and if they do occur its usually during a gun-related season,” he says.
And with people out enjoying the backcountry, there are also search and rescue missions. On July 3, Western State Mountain Rescue, Crested Butte Search and Rescue, and Pitkin Quick Response were dispatched to a downed hiker near the Alpine Tunnel. The 20-year-old Evergreen male had fractured his leg when a boulder rolled over it, but it is uncertain what caused the rock to fall. The victim was air-lifted by helicopter.
On Tuesday, July 7, a woman in her 60s suffered a broken ankle after falling during a hike on the 403 trail. Crested Butte Search and Rescue and the Mt. Crested Butte police responded and helped deliver the woman to the hospital.
Other than the crash on Cottonwood, July 4 itself wasn’t to hectic, officers say.
Crested Butte Marshal Tom Martin says, “Overall the Fourth went pretty smooth. The parade went smooth and the water fight was okay… and it rained around 2:30, you know, and that must have pushed people away from town.”
Plus, with the fireworks and music up in Mt. Crested Butte that evening Martin says there wasn’t any trouble at the bars downtown. He thinks a few bars may have even closed down early. “We did have to deal with six or seven extremely intoxicated individuals,” Martin says.
One of those individuals happened to be walking down Highway 135 near Riverbend close to 9 p.m., just as the fireworks were starting.
Smith says it took two officers to escort the man off the road. The man has mental health issues and had not only been drinking but was not taking his medication either, Smith says.
Smith says other than that, things went pretty good in Mt. Crested Butte. Thanks to a state Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (LEAF) grant, which is funded through DUI fines, Mt. Crested Butte had several officers working overtime on the Fourth, for a total of six on duty throughout the day.
With the Fourth of July weekend over, Besecker says he might start relaxing—sometime this winter.