LARIMER COUNTY, Colo — A 20-year-old woman died after she was injured when the raft she was in hit a bridge pylon in the Poudre River along Highway 14.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said dispatch received several calls around 1 p.m. Thursday related to an empty commercial raft in the river. The callers reported the raft was near the Greyrock Trailhead on Highway 14.
As they headed that way, first responders learned that there was an accident involving a group from a local rafting company. They were told that the raft had struck a bridge pylon and that others were already performing CPR on the woman on the bank of the river. The woman was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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The Larimer County Coroner's Office identified the woman as Ciara Byrne of Fort Collins. Her death was from accidental drowning, the coroner's office said.
The sheriff's office noted that the raft remains stuck in the bridge pylon and may be visible until there is an opportunity to safely remove it.
“This is a tragic loss that deeply impacts someone’s loved ones and our whole community,” said Captain Tim Keeton, who oversees the Emergency Services division. “We’ll continue supporting her family in the difficult days ahead. Thank you to our dispatchers, deputies, Emergency Services personnel, medical teams, victim’s advocates, and partner agencies for their work on this incredibly difficult call.”
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