30 years ago – October 5, 1984
Fun and entertainment was unfortunately brought to an end at the Colorado Sierra Fire Department’s Aspen Fest held Saturday. Shortly after 1:00p.m., a team of three skydivers, performing for the festival, jumped from a Cessna 205. Starting at 13,500 feet, only two of the skydivers made the jump successfully. One of the divers did not, and was injured. According to Gilpin County Undersheriff David Martinez, the injured skydiver hit high turbulent winds at approximately 500 feet above the ground. His parachute was open. Martinez was about 300 feet away from the diver. Reports of what actually happened are conflicting from those who were closer to the scene. Martinez said that the other two skydivers stated that the injured man’s parachute caught in a tree. Due to the high winds, the skydiver forcibly hit the ground. Reportedly, the injuries were fractures of a leg and an arm, a bruised heart, and a concussion. According to Doug Miller, chief of the Colorado Sierra Fire Department, the skydivers have been jumping for several years for the fire department’s annual event. The fire department will not be held liable for the accident, he said. Miller said it is doubtful the skydiving event will be held again, due to the accident.
The county is still looking for a permanent site for a compactor in the south end of the county. County Commissioner Jerry Ward said the commissioners have talked to the city councils in Black Hawk and Central City to see if they have any suggestions. Until the situation is resolved, Clear Creek Disposal, which runs the three county compactor sites, has agreed to place a bin unit just north of the state garage on Highway 119 in Black Hawk. The state is planning to fence the area where the old compactor was located. The state has offered an area just north of that as a temporary location. The new bin is not a compactor so the commissioners are asking the public to cooperate by taking any large items, such as mattresses, to the Colorado Sierra compactor. The bin in Black Hawk will be locked during the hours the site is closed.
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