Death, injuries in storm's aftermath
Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News
Published December 23, 2006 at midnight
Three people died in Weld County and Aurora while trying to dig out of the blizzard, and three others may have lost parts of their fingers attempting to remove debris from snowblowers, authorities said Friday.
The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office was called Friday afternoon to investigate the death of a man in Aurora found inside his vehicle by passers-by. Witnesses told authorities that they had seen the man shoveling snow before he climbed into his car, the coroner's office said. Pathologists will determine how the victim, who was not identified, died.
In Weld County, the coroner's office is looking at the possibility that two people died of heart failure while shoveling snow. A 77-year-old Roggen man died on Thursday as he was shoveling snow, Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez said.
A 70-year-old Fort Lupton man also died Thursday afternoon after he shoveled snow and began having chest pains and problems breathing, police Sgt. Kevin Halloran said. The victim decided to go inside his home, where he apparently suffered a heart attack.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson County, West Metro Fire Rescue firefighters responded to three snowblower accidents.
The victims did not turn off their snowblowers to remove debris, said Cindy Matthews, a spokeswoman for West Metro Fire.
Two of the victims suffered complete or partial amputations of their fingers.
Matthews said she was not certain if the third victim lost his fingers.
The victims were taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital and Swedish Medical Center, where their conditions were unavailable.
"We don't recommend it," Matthews said of the practice of trying to remove debris when the snowblower is operating. "You try to turn the entire thing off to try to clear it."
Matthews also said it is dangerous to use a stick to clear a clogged snowblower while the blades are spinning because the machine could spit out pieces of wood, injuring the user.
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