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Local skid-steer operator identified

The driver of the skid-steer who died Monday when the piece of equipment he was operating slid into the Animas River has been identified as Charles William Huntoon Jr., the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.

Huntoon was 32.

The accident occurred shortly after 11 a.m. in the 2500 block of East Animas Road (County Road 250), where Huntoon was clearing brush.

Huntoon was removed from the machinery, which was submerged for about 40 minutes, Sheriff’s spokesman Dan Bender said in a news release. The skid-steer, which landed upside down in the river, had to be turned on its side with a crane to remove Huntoon.

Huntoon was backing toward the river with an attachment on the skid-steer when the bank caved in, Bender said.

Huntoon, known as Chip, was the owner of CH Property Service, a local contractor.

daler@durangoherald.com

Aug 4, 2014
Local man killed in tragic accident


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