BUS SERVICE DOUBTFUL FOR MAROON BELLS, HANGING LAKE

ASPEN» Bus service to the Maroon Bells Scenic Area is unlikely this summer because of the pandemic, White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said Thursday.

Instead, the U.S. Forest Service and its partners are looking into allowing a limited number of private vehicles to drive up to the popular destination southwest of Aspen, he said. They are investigating if a reservation system could be implemented for blocks of time or all day.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Fitzwilliams said. “The shuttle system is not an option, at least not at this time.”

The same scenario is unfolding for Hanging Lake, a popular destination in Glenwood Canyon. The Forest Service implemented a shuttle system and required visitors to make reservations last year.

Man arrested, accused of sexually assaulting runner on trail.

FORT COLLINS» A man sexually assaulted a woman who was running on the Poudre River Trail, and the assailant fled on a bicycle.

The assault happened before 6:30 p.m. Thursday near the 600 block of

South Lemay Avenue, according to police.

After an initial attack, the victim called 911. The assailant attacked her a second time while she was on the phone with dispatchers, police said. He then fled on a bicycle.

Police contacted a bicyclist matching the description of the assailant. Samuel Torres-Martinez, 19, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and taken to the county jail.

The victim, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to a hospital, treated, and released, police said.

Three-minute siren test planned for Wednesday in Denver. Denver will conduct a three-minute test of its siren warning system Wednesday.

The test, conducted annually before tornado season, will activate all of the city’s outdoor warning sirens simultaneously at 11 a.m. for three minutes.

When sirens go off unrelated to testing, people are advised to seek shelter immediately and seek additional information from local media for further instructions.

Two dead after crashing stolen vehicle into fire station during police chase. WESTMINSTER» A man and woman were killed early Thursday after crashing a stolen vehicle into a fire station during a police chase.

Their identities were not been released.

At 2:12 a.m., a police officer reported he was following a stolen vehicle near 120th Avenue and Mariposa Street, a police news release said.

The officer tried to stop the vehicle, but it turned onto Federal Boulevard and headed south. Officers used a spiked stick to puncture the stolen vehicle’s tires near 112th Avenue, but the suspects kept going, the release said.

Police followed the vehicle until it entered a neighborhood near 99th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard. Officers slowed down as the suspects kept driving on Lowell Boulevard. The car crashed into a Westminster Fire Station at

9140 Lowell Blvd., the news release said.

Divers recover body of man in lake after car chase. COUNTY»

JEFFERSON

Divers have discovered the body of a man inside a stolen pickup in a lake after he careened into the water during a police chase Wednesday.

The crash near C-470 and Ken Caryl Avenue happened late Wednesday, but divers didn’t discover the body until Thursday morning, according to a

State Patrol news release.

A Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy spotted the stolen 2020 Toyota pickup about 11 p.m. Wednesday,

Trooper Josh Lewis said. The suspect did not stop the pickup, and a chase ensued, he said.

Divers responded to the scene to search in the dark Wednesday night near a set of tire tracks leading into the water, Lewis said.