Summit County District Attorney Heidi McCollum said Officer Allen Jambor and Deputy Vincent Moquin were justified in their actions because the 18-year-old Foster posed an immediate danger to others.
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A case that drew the attention of backcountry recreators across the Mountain West has come to a close.
Evan Hannibal and Tyler Dewitt
set off a backcountry avalanche in Colorado more than a year ago. That slide covered a service road and destroyed an avalanche mitigation device.
They were then charged with reckless endangerment, and prosecutors planned to use the snowboarders own camera footage that they gave to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. That alarmed some backcountry experts, who thought this kind of prosecution might discourage backcountry recreators from reporting avalanches, which could have deadly consequences.
Summit County District Attorney Heidi McCollum argued
WKBT
May 18, 2021 4:52 PM By THOMAS PEIPERT
Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
Thomas Peipert
FILE - In this March 22, 2021, file photo, a sign warns backcountry users about avalanche blasting near the Continental Divide near Vail, Colo. Evan Hannibal, of Vail, and Tyler DeWitt, of Silverthorne, were involved in an avalanche in the area last spring that buried a service road and destroyed an expensive avalanche mitigation system. Prosecutors have dropped their bid for $168,000 in damages from two snowboarders who triggered a slide that buried a service road and destroyed an expensive avalanche mitigation system in Colorado s backcountry.
Thomas Peipert
FILE - In this March 22, 2021, file photo, Evan Hannibal poses for a portrait outside his home in Vail, Colo. Prosecutors have dropped their bid for $168,000 in damages from two snowboarders who triggered a slide that buried a service road and destroyed an expensive avalanche mitigation system in Colorado s backcountr