# death in royal gorge 5-19 ?



## zbaird (Oct 11, 2003)

ran it yesterday and heard there was a death below wallslammer. ed, also heard you were on scene for cpr, whats the story? commercial, private raft, kayaker......... swim from sledge all the way down? sorry to hear about it and condolences to family, friends, and those on scene. z


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## heliodorus04 (May 31, 2005)

/bump

I'm one of the accident correspondents for American Whitewater, and I'll need to file a report with AW on this. Please direct anyone with solid information to this thread, or PM me.


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## Ed Hansen (Oct 12, 2003)

Yeah, I arrived at the scene after the fact, so I don't know exactly what water feature in or around Wallslammer Rapid that caused the guy to enter the water. He was a passanger in a raft. I believe he was a commercial passanger. People only knew his first name, "*removed*". His friend was from just upstream of the Gorge, (Howard, CO.) I think the raft had "**removed**" on the side. Someone said it was "*removed*'s boat".

People on the scene said they had been giving CPR for about an hour before I got there. The group said they had already sent for help. I offered to give relief and then took over the chest compressions until the paramedics arrived, who come down the tracks from upstream, having come down the incline rail from the suspension bridge. 

The paramedics then took over CPR, placed the defibulator pads on his chest, plus a bunch of other electrodes, put a tube down his throat, and worked on him for some time. They were never able to get a "shockable rythm". They stopped life saving measures after it had been probably two hours since he had stopped breathing. They took him out of the canyon via a rail-truck that came up the tracks from Canon City.

*****************************

He was pulled from the river below Wallslammer Rapid. At the end of that long right curve in the river, so about 2 tenths of a mile below the rapid. If you looked up-stream, up the railroad tracks, we were too far down-stream to see the river-side tourist area.

I was not present when he fell in the water, but it sounded like he came out of the boat after wallslammer, but I'm not sure; he may have fallen out in Wallslammer proper. I don't know if it was a flip, a dump-truck or just fell out in a hole or the boat bounced off a rock. The level was 2100-2200(?) so there wern't many rock, honestly. The weather was clear and warm, no clouds, no wind (down there). He was wearing a wet suit and dry-top, booties. He did appear a bit overweight, but not near as big as some or the people we often see on commercial trips.

My condolences to his family and freinds.

Rest in Peace **removed**.


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## mommer (Mar 23, 2004)

*carefull with the names man*

gotta watch out with the name stuff on this kinda thing. there is always court a commin... sucks you had to deal with that, and i hope you are ok.. been there done that..... you are a verry good person for helping.. just watch your stories cuz they will be doccumented real leagl stuff..
MOMMER


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## Peev (Oct 24, 2003)

I agree with mommer. Now is NOT the time for speculation.


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## dugan (May 5, 2006)

Ease up folks. Bystanders aren't regulated by HIPAA laws.

Thanks for the info. ED. Sorry to hear about "Charlie". Nice job stepping up to the plate and helping out.


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## eddie (Apr 12, 2005)

dugan said:


> Ease up folks. Bystanders aren't regulated by HIPAA laws.


I don't think anyone was being to harsh. EH's recap is appreciated, and his help at the scene even more so, but these incedents require some discretion. As a commercial guide who has seen some bad stuff, as well as a volunteer firefighter, I strongly agree that posting names on a public forum is not a good thing. Facts are ok but names are bad until it has all been worked through.

To EH and anyone else who responded... although I wasn't there, I'm sure your help was greatly appreciated. And to everyone on scene, especially the guides... F'd up stuff happens sometimes, make sure you take care of yourself.

Condolences to friends and family


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## heliodorus04 (May 31, 2005)

Thanks, Ed, for your info. 
I'm hoping to find a link to a news article in the Canon City daily or maybe the Pueblo Chieftain, but no luck so far. As of right now, I don't have anything more than Ed's on-scene info to send to American Whitewater. If anyone hears something more or finds a link, please let me know. 

Condolences to friends and family.


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## Ed Hansen (Oct 12, 2003)

I only used first names. I would not have posted last names even if I knew them. Mountainbuzz won't let me edit a previous post after a time, to take out the two names that I did use. I guess I really didn't need to say who's boat it was, I just posted what I over heard. 

I wasn't placing blame on any one in my original post, I just said "he entered the water or fell out of the raft.

For what it's worth, If (or when) I die on the river I would want people to know what happened to me.....to put my name up let people know that it was me.


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## tress33 (Jan 5, 2007)

No worries Ed, what you said was fine. Thaks for the info.


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## heliodorus04 (May 31, 2005)

This is the latest, best available information I could find about the drowning on the Royal Gorge on May 18. I'm not editing the news report, which does refer to the rafting company. I've no doubt they followed proper procedures and did all they could. 

Condolences again to family and friends.

****************************************8
*Boulder man dies in gorge*

*by Jason Starr*
Mail Staff Writer

The Arkansas River whitewater run through the Royal Gorge claimed the life of a Boulder man Saturday when the commercial raft he was in flipped.

Charles H. Bointy, 52, drowned after the raft capsized in a rapid known as "wall banger." He was among six passengers on the guided trip, and his death was the first rafting death on the Arkansas River this season.

Fremont County Coroner Dorothy Twellman said Bointy had a heart condition which contributed to the drowning.

"You don't have the breath and muscle energy to keep fighting quite as well," she explained.

Bointy was on a trip with River Runners of Buena Vista accompanying co-workers from a nursing home in Boulder.

Two of the five survivors are nurses and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Bointy for 45 minutes beside the river before Fremont County Sheriff's Deputies and Cañon City Fire and Rescue personnel arrived.

Twellman said Bointy was swept about 400 yards downriver after the boat flipped. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The river was flowing about 2,140 cubic feet per second through the Royal Gorge Saturday.

Wall banger rapid is named because rafts often contact the canyon wall there.

"Frequently rafts do bang up against the rock wall and this one did," Twellman said. "I don't know why this raft turned over and most of them don't."

Colorado River Outfitters Association is investigating the incident to ensure all safety procedures were followed.

Spokeswoman Julia Schneider said River Runners "are a very reputable outfitter. We're confident our internal investigation will show they adhered to every procedure."

The association keeps track of fatalities among guests of outfitters in Colorado. One person died rafting the Arkansas last year, Schneider said.

"Guests need to keep in mind the river is unpredictable and there are risks in rafting," she said. "But the likelihood of an incident is rare, especially with a licensed outfitter."

She continued, "The river community in Colorado definitely takes this seriously and is always saddened when there is a loss like this ... . Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family."


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## gh (Oct 13, 2003)

Ed, send a note to the help desk or send me a PM and I will take care of that for you. I removed all name references in your post.


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