Two Fatalities in Arkansas River Rafting Accident

A man and his 16-year-old son died after being ejected from their raft in the Arkansas River yesterday afternoon. 

Rescue personnel responded to of 4 Reservoir Road, an area next to the Arkansas River and near the Pueblo Reservoir. When they arrived, witnesses said three people, including an adult male and a juvenile male, had been ejected from a raft and trapped in a river hydraulic. 

After several minutes, one passenger made it to shore but the raft emerged from the current with the father and son entangled in the raft’s rope. Efforts to revive them were unsuccessful. 

The Pueblo County Coroner identified the victims as 46-year-old Ricardo Sanchez and his son, 16-year-old Jose Valencia, both of Aurora. 

Terry West
Latest posts by Terry West (see all)