Colorado
Colorado man bitten by pet Gila monster dead days later
A Colorado man has died after being bitten by his pet Gila monster.
The bite happened on Feb. 12 when the man’s girlfriend heard something that “didn’t sound right” coming from the other room. She went to check and saw the lizard latched onto the hand of 34-year-old Christopher Ward, according to a report from local animal control.
She told the Lakewood Police Department that Ward “immediately began exhibiting symptoms, vomiting several times and eventually passing out and ceasing to breathe,” the report said.
Ward was placed on life support in a hospital. Within days, doctors had declared him brain dead.
Ward’s girlfriend handed over the lizard named Winston and another named Potato to Lakewood animal control the day after the bite.
Ward’s girlfriend reportedly told officers they bought Winston at a reptile exhibition in Denver in October and Potato from a breeder in Arizona in November, according to the animal control officer’s report. Told that Gila monsters were illegal in Lakewood, a suburb of Denver, the woman told officers she wanted them out of her house as soon as possible, the report said.
Officers working with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources sent the lizards to Reptile Gardens outside Rapid City, South Dakota.
Twenty-six spiders of different species also were taken from the home to a nearby animal shelter.
What are Gila monsters?
The Gila monster is the largest lizard found in the United States, according to the National Park Service.
It can grow up to about 22 inches long and weigh about a pound, and is known for its bead-like scales in pink, orange, salmon or yellowish color patterns.
The carnivores live in the desert and spend most of their time underground. They’re found primarily in Arizona and Mexico, but can also be found in the extreme southeastern corner of California, the southern tip of Nevada, and the southwestern corners of Utah and New Mexico.
Gila monster bite
The Gila monster is one of only a few venomous lizards in the world.
Gila monster venom is about as toxic as that of a western diamondback rattlesnake, according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
When Gila monsters bite, which is rare, a relatively small amount of venom is introduced from the lower jaw. But the lizard is known to latch on for a longer period of time and begin to “chew” as to introduce more venom.
It’s unclear how long the pet Gila monster was latched on for when it bit Ward.
NPS says a reasonably healthy adult will probably not be killed by a bite, but young children and people with other medical concerns might be vulnerable.
The local coroner declined to comment to The Associated Press about Ward’s death, including whether tests showed if Ward died from the pet’s venom or from some other medical condition.
This story was reported from Detroit. The Associated Press contributed.
Colorado
Austin Gomber dominates, Ryan McMahon blasts game-winning homer as Rockies outlast A’s in 12 innings
Amid a lost season, the Rockies’ best pitcher and best position player carried Colorado to victory on Wednesday night in Oakland.
Austin Gomber carved up the Athletics, throwing eight innings of one-run ball while continuing to look the part of Colorado’s ace. Then, Ryan McMahon — making a strong case for his first all-star nod — blasted the game-winning, two-run homer in the 12th for a 4-3 victory at the Oakland Coliseum.
“(Gomber) was brilliant,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters. “Changing speeds, confidence, ball-strike ratio off the charts, no walks, quick innings early, efficient. Eight innings — you don’t see that a lot in today’s game.”
After Charlie Blackmon’s single to open the game in front of a sparse crowd, Elias Diaz gave the Rockies a 2-0 lead with his two-out, two-run, 401-foot homer to center off Oakland right-hander Mitch Spence.
With that buffer, Gomber set the first 10 Oakland batters down, and was on cruise control until center fielder JJ Bleday’s solo homer to right-center put the A’s on the board and cut the score to 2-1.
But that proved to be just a blip for Gomber, who quickly settled back in to steer the Rockies to snapping a four-game slide.
The southpaw entered the game with a sparkling 0.48 ERA in three May starts, and he continued that recent trend of domination throughout the game. It’s the version of Gomber the Rockies believed they were getting when they acquired the southpaw as the centerpiece of the trade for Nolan Arenado ahead of the 2021 season.
Gomber set the A’s down in order in the fifth and the sixth before working around a pair of singles in the seventh. After setting Oakland down in order again in the eighth, Gomber was at just 90 pitches, but Black elected to go to the bullpen.
“I think at that point, it was time to make the change, and he felt so too,” Black said.
The southpaw lowered his overall ERA to 2.76 with the outing, the latest stellar showing as Gomber continues to be a bright spot in the Rockies’ rough season. He and right-hander Cal Quantrill have carried Colorado’s rotation.
Gomber allowed five hits, with no walks, six strikeouts and 10 groundball outs. He located his fastball and was also effective with his knuckle-curve and changeup, inducing 12 swing-and-misses overall.
A day after the Colorado bullpen blew the game in a 5-4 Oakland win in the series opener, southpaw Jalen Beeks came on looking for his fifth save of the season. But Beeks allowed a single to Brent Rooker and then walked Khris Davis with two outs, leading to Zack Gelof’s line drive single to center over the outstretched glove of a leaping Brendan Rodgers at second base.
That tied the game 2-2, but Beeks averted giving away the game completely by getting Colorado’s first-round pick from 2015, Tyler Nevin, to fly out to right field to force extras.
Beeks’ walk of Davis on four pitches to extend Oakland’s inning and pave the way for Gelof’s game-tying single underscored a continued troubling trend for the Rockies bullpen, which ranked last in the majors with a 12.2% walk rate entering the game.
In the 10th, the Rockies failed to score their California runner, pinch-runner Alan Trejo, after Rodgers grounded out to right-hander Lucas Erceg, Kris Bryant K’d and then Brenton Doyle also grounded out to Erceg.
Victor Vodnik came on to pitch the bottom half of the inning, and with his heater consistently sitting at 100 miles per hour, the right-hander stranded the game-winning run on third base to take the game to the 11th.
Colorado’s offense flailed again in that frame, as right-hander Austin Adams struck out the side in Jordan Beck, Hunter Goodman and Jake Cave to leave Doyle standing on second. But right-hander Nick Mears matched that feat in the bottom of the 11th, fanning the Oakland side.
Finally, McMahon allowed Colorado to break through in the 12th with his towering, 401-foot homer to right-center. The Rockies were 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position at that point, with Colorado’s previous hit in that situation being Diaz’s first-inning homer.
McMahon’s ninth homer of the year, and his third straight game with a dinger, made it 4-2. Plus, it made the Rockies the first team in MLB history with a multi-run homer in the first inning and a multi-run homer in the 12th inning or later with no runs in between, according to OptaStats.
“We bookend two-run homers — Diaz in the first and Mac in the 12th,” Black said. “We had a lot of chances in-between, left a lot of guys out there (with 14 left on base).”
The A’s got one back off Mears in the bottom of the inning, but Mears induced a key double-play before Matt Koch got Max Schuemann to fly out to end the game. It was the first 12-plus inning game for Colorado since July 22, 2022 (a 6-5 loss in Milwaukee), and the Rockies’ first win in a 12-plus inning game since the season finale in 2019 (a 4-3 win over the Brewers in Denver).
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Colorado
Colorado man donates kidney to sister who survived cancer
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Colorado
First phase of reopening for Blue Mesa bridge in Colorado expected to start on July 4 or earlier
Transportation officials in Colorado are sharing a plan this week to reopen Highway 50’s Blue Mesa bridge in a limited fashion in July or possibly earlier. The bridge was closed to traffic a month ago when concerns arose about whether it is safe to drive across. Repairs have been underway since then — while Highway 50 has been closed — and the plan is now to allow emergency vehicles and lighter vehicles across the bridge on the 4th of July or possibly earlier.
The bridge is located near Dillon Pinnacle and stretches across the Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is located west of Gunnison and east of Montrose.
An inspection last month found a 3 inch crack in the bridge as well as some buckled parts. Soon afterward the lieutenant governor declared a disaster emergency and an emergency request for $10 million in repair funds was granted by the Transportation Commission of Colorado. A much more in-depth inspection has now been completed, and the determination is that the integrity of the bridge is not threatened by that crack and other “internal anomalies, or defects” that were found.
“The internal anomalies do require mitigation and repair for long-term serviceability of the bridge,” CDOT wrote in a news release.
Trucks and larger commercial vehicles will still be restricted from crossing the bridge with the first phase of reopening.
“It is important to note that the completion of the first phase is dependent on critical factors, including weather,” CDOT wrote.
CDOT’s goal is to have the bridge fully back open to vehicles of all weights in the fall. They said the second phase of repairs “requires more time to complete and can be performed safely in between in-service traffic openings on the bridge.”
Between now and July, CDOT will allow more vehicles to use the County Road 26 bypass to get back and forth from Montrose to Gunnison. It’s a long, rough gravel road and CDOT pilot cars have been leading traffic through in a very limited manner for the past month. Starting this week there will be seven different releases of traffic across 26 on all days except Wednesdays. On Wednesdays the amount of traffic let through on County Road 26 will be more limited so repairs to that road can be made. Only vehicles of “legal maximum vehicle dimensions and weights” are allowed on 26.
Residents in Montrose County, Gunnison County and Hinsdale County who are interested in learning more about CDOT’s plan for the Blue Mesa bridge can attend a town hall meeting on Wednesday night at the Montrose County Event Center. It starts at 6:30 p.m. More information is also posted on gunnisoncounty.org.
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