The sole
survivor of a rock slide that killed five people in Colorado said her
father shielded her as the rocks tumbled down, police said.
The teen, identified as Gracie Johnson, was airlifted to a Denver
hospital with a broken leg after Monday's rock slide that sent 100-ton
boulders onto a viewing area in Chalk Creek Canyon below Mount
Princeton.
Gracie's father, mother and sibling were among the victims, whose identities have not been released, sources told ABC News.
Chaffee County Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tolsma said he hiked about a mile to reach the scene.
"I heard a scream next to me. I saw a hand sticking out underneath
the boulder," Tolsma said of Gracie. "The true hero is her dad. She said
her dad jumped on her to protect her at the last moment when the rocks
were coming down. I think he saved her life."
Investigators planned to return to the popular hiking trial Tuesday
to resume their recovery efforts. Falling rocks hampered efforts to
recover the bodies Monday evening.
"They started encountering more rocks coming off the cliff," Chaffee
County Undersheriff John Spezze said of first responders' efforts
Monday.
