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August 15, 2014 VOLU M E 1 2 | I SS UE 41
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Mom gets four-year sentence in crash
ALL IS FAIR
Woman who had been drinking drove into vehicles at school Staff report A Parker woman was ordered to spend the next four years in prison for crashing into a line of vehicles occupied by parents waiting to pick up their kids from school. Prosecutors said 40-year-old Kelly Denise Carrothers had a bloodalcohol level that was more than twice the legal limit when she crashed into a row of vehicles sitting outside of North- Carrothers east Elementary School in the Pinery in November 2012. She was sentenced by Douglas County District Court Judge Paul King on Aug. 1. Carrothers pleaded guilty in May to DUI vehicular assault, reckless vehicular assault, child abuse and driving under the influence. Carrothers’ Chevrolet Silverado crashed into a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, which was crushed between two vehicles near North Pinery Parkway and Windwood Way. The driver of that vehicle suffered serious head injuries, including the loss of an eye. The pickup truck hit a Ford Escape,
ABOVE: Bridger Southwick, 3, tests his tractor-driving skills at the fair expo. RIGHT: Tristan Esquivel, 2, of Parker, shows his dad, Rogelio, how it’s done during a carnival game at the Douglas County Fair Aug. 10. The toddler happily walked away with a goldfish.
Scattered rain showers weren’t enough to keep the crowds away from the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo on Aug. 10. Carnival rides were churning out screams and games were turning out winners, including a few who went home with a goldfish. The indoor expo featured a variety of entrepreneurs, from face-painters to drone salesmen to taffy purveyors to martial arts gurus.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS MICHLEWICZ
DUI continues on Page 11
Firefighting crews put vacant store to use South Metro trains at old King Soopers building in Cottonwood By Chris Michlewicz
cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com South Metro Fire Rescue didn’t hesitate when it was offered the opportunity to use the vacant King Soopers building in Parker’s Cottonwood subdivision for training. The abandoned space — scheduled for demolition this fall — is the perfect place for firefighters, medics and supervisors to run through scenarios. For six days earlier this month, South Metro conducted drills, testing first-responders on their ability to deal with a mass-casualty incident in which five people are “injured” by a scaffolding collapse. The call, however, comes in as a fire, and the first safety officer on scene must recognize that other resources will be needed, said Lt. Brian Netzel, adjunct instructor for the fire department. “It’s a realistic scenario to show up on a fire alarm and end up with who knows what,” he said. “In this case, it’s more than a medical call.
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It’s a mass-casualty incident.” A mock patient played by a South Metro firefighter yells that his chest and legs hurt as personnel entered the unlit building with flashlights. The victim is purposefully placed near the entrance to distract the crews. To correctly assess the situation, Netzel said, one firefighter or medic should be assigned to that patient while the rest move on. “Your conscious patients that are screaming for help draw you to them, but it’s usually the unconscious ones that need your help,” said Netzel, who is a firefighter based in station 44 near Lincoln Avenue and Peoria Street. The responders who were tested the afternoon of Aug. 8 made the right decision, and moved on to a separate part of the building, where another mock patient was buried in rubble and, per the scenario, impaled by a pipe that had to be cut away. Firefighters pulled the debris off of the patient and wheeled him out to a waiting ambulance. Separate groups of South Metro personnel were tasked with triaging, extracting, extricating, treating and transporting patients. The battalion chief, who takes over command when he arrives on scene, oversaw the entire flow. In all, three shifts from 17 stations were cycled through during the six-day training period,11:26 which planned with one week’s 7/21/14 AMwas Page 1
South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters carry a hose into a space connected to the vacant King Soopers in Parker during a fire training session on Aug. 8. Photo by Chris Michlewicz notice. Becky O’Guin, spokeswoman for the fire authority, credited safety officers in charge of training and adjunct instructors like Netzel for helping crews practice for the real thing.
“He works so hard for us,” O’Guin said. “Above and beyond.” While there were no concrete goals, the Fire continues on Page 11
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