Child, Teen Swept Away by Colo. Flooding
Pastor Dale Morgan
Child, Teen Swept Away by Colo. Flooding *
May 15 08:44 AM US/Eastern
DENVER (AP) - Severe thunderstorms sent normally placid streams over
their banks across the Denver area, sweeping away a toddler in a
stroller and a teenager who was trying to help with a rescue. Both were
still missing Tuesday morning, police said.
The toddler's mother had been out for a stroll Monday along a bike path
that follows a creek near downtown. It had been a sunny morning, and the
thunderstorm developed quickly. In less than an hour, it dumped more
than an inch of rain, flooding streets and sending a torrent of water
down the tiny creek.
"Once you enter (the bike path), you're in a chute," Denver Fire
Department spokesman Phil Champagne said. "She knew she was in trouble
and was trying to get out. She was on the phone with her grandfather,
trying to figure out a way out.
"The water knocked her down, she was dragged for a little bit and was
unable to hold onto the stroller," Champagne said. "What a tragic event.
That poor mother to see her child swept away like that."
Firefighters struggled against the current to rescue the woman, but the
baby and stroller were swept downstream. The stroller was later found
empty more than a mile away in the South Platte River, Champagne said.
In south Denver, a police officer and firefighters were able to save one
teenager from a swollen creek in a park, but another teen who apparently
was trying to help was swept away and remained missing, Champagne said.
The officer was hospitalized with what appeared to be hypothermia,
police spokesman John White said. The missing baby's mother was also
hospitalized. Their names were not released.