Fort Collins Man Dies Tubing the Poudre River on 4th of July

Matthew Spates, 26 of Fort Collins passed away at 5:30 a.m. Friday after he and eight other people were pulled from the water.

Ryan Thomas, Poudre Fire Authority captain said:

"A lot of the tubes were tied together, and that is an inherent risk when we start tying flotation devices together. If you come across a branch or a strainer, now you become entrapped on both sides of it, and that is what we ran into."

 

Thomas went on to say that the tubes they were using were purchased at a major retail store, but not equipped to handle the river.