This tragic death was not a random accident (Herald, July 21). It could’ve been prevented.
Durango needs to educate not only some of our young, naive locals but also our tourists, who know nothing about the power of our river.
Plain and simple, people are risking their lives going through our whitewater park without a personal flotation device. This might sound extreme, but it’s true, as we now know from the incident that happened on July 16.
As a resident of Durango for 20 years, I feel that this terrible event was waiting to happen. It’s an absolute miracle that this doesn’t happen every year. I spend four months out of the year playing in our amazing, world-class water park, which we are so fortunate to have. I cannot even begin to recount all of the close calls that I have seen personally and all the times that I have heard fellow experienced, whitewater enthusiasts remark that any day now one of these tubers will die in this park.
Well, now that has happened and please, Durango, take responsibility and don’t blame this on Manuel Gallegos. He was an everyday tourist, on vacation, looking to cool off on a hot summer day with his friends. I highly doubt he had any inclination that he was risking his life. How could he have, considering the fact that there are no signs or warnings at the put-ins or at any of the popular take-outs?
Our park is life-threatening without a PFD. Post signs now!
Vanessa Taylor
Durango
