DENVER — Police are investigating after a father and son were seriously hurt from falling in the icy water along the Cherry Creek Trail Wednesday.
The Denver Fire Department received a call around 4:30 p.m. that a 5-year-old boy had fallen into the water along the trail near the intersection of South Chester Court and East Cornell Avenue, and his father had jumped in and injured himself trying to save the boy.
Denver Fire Department Capt. Greg Pixley said the department responded and firefighters pulled the father and son out of the water.
"Unfortunately, the child was hurt pretty bad," he said.
The child had to be taken to Children’s Hospital, and the father was taken to Swedish Medical Center.
"When it comes to these warmer temperatures that start to melt the ice that create these dangerous situations where children and dogs and our pets go out onto the ice and they might fall through," Pixley said.
Further information on the circumstances surrounding the incident or the severity of their injuries were not immediately available.
Denver authorities are searching for witnesses who may have seen the father and son duo between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. along the Cherry Creek or High Line Canal Trail between South Elmira Street and South Boston Street in the vicinity of Hentzell Park.
Police are investigating the circumstances of how the boy suffered life-threatening injuries, according a Metro Denver Crime Stoppers bulletin.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
Denver7's Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson said icy ponds across the Denver metro should be considered unsafe.
"The problem that we’ve had are a lot of temperatures in the 50 degree range during the day, so any ice that forms when things drop overnight rapidly thins out in the daytime hours,” Nelson said. "You need about four inches of ice for a person to stand on. You need about a foot of ice for a car to drive on. We’re just not getting those kind of conditions because it’s not been cold enough during the daytime hours."
Especially with fluctuating temperatures, Pixley said it’s best to assume ice in and around the metro area is not safe.
“Those icy situations are very dangerous,” Pixley said. “It's important for people to understand ice is never safe unless you're told it is.”
Wednesday's rescue along the Cherry Creek Trail follows another that occurred in Arapahoe County over the weekend when deputies and good Samaritans rescued three children from an icy pond outside of an apartment complex
