Elitch Gardens was the dream of John and Mary Elitch and they fulfilled that dream when they bought 16 acres of land in Northwest Denver in 1889. At the time, the piece of land had a farmhouse, cottonwood trees and an apple orchard.
Over time, the site was home to Mary’s garden, Denver’s first zoo, and eventually a theater house. John Elitch passed away in 1891, but Mary continued the vision. The amusement park on the corner of 38th and Tennyson grew to be a Denver institution and as their famous slogan applies, “Not to see Elitch’s Gardens is not to see Denver.”
Nostalgia runs thick for any Denverite who frequented the old park or the new location near the Central Platte location. Still, Elitch’s is also home to some of the more sensational deaths in Denver history.
May 30, 1914 – Memorial Day Stunt Goes Awry
Elitch Gardens’ 25th anniversary had an inauspicious start with an aerial stunt gone wrong. Parachutist Harry E. Bunkstrom dropped 2,000 feet to his death at Eltich Gardens, in front of an estimated 1,200 spectators, after he lost hold of his parachute when he leaped from a hot air balloon.
The impact was horrific; he bounced twelve feet in the air. The Rocky Mountain News said that every bone in his body was estimated to have been broken, and that he died on impact.
The described astronaut had made a successful attempt at the twin parachute trick days earlier, where he would open the first parachute at 2,000 feet and then open the second several hundred feet below.
June 10, 1965 – Miniature Train Derailment
A graduation party ended in disaster when a 15-year-old girl was killed after a miniature train at the park flipped on its side. The accident also injured eight additional passengers on the miniature train.
The Denver coroner ruled the girl’s death due to a ruptured heart from fright. Gloria Kosciw also had a fractured skull and facial cuts.
The Rocky Mountain News reported that the cause of the accident was not immediately known. Eight other people suffered injuries from the accident as well.
The miniature train followed a circular path through the flowered area near the park’s main entrance on 38th and Tennyson.
The 19-year-old engineer said that when they were nearing a turn, he heard a bang and the screens. The train was going 18 miles per hour. Kosciw’s body was found nine feet away from the accident.
August 7, 1966 – Company Picnic Takes Tragic Turn
Starr Yelland Jr., the son of a prominent radio personality, was injured at the company picnic at Elitch Gardens.
He was thrown from the rear seat of the rear car of the new Wildcat roller coaster. The accident occurred at the bottom of the first dip when Yelland either stood or attempted to stand up in the car.
One witness confirmed with the investigators that the 17-year-old was trying to stand up. The coaster cars were equipped with a safety bar in a fixed position across the riders’ laps.
He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he remained in a coma for several weeks and spent months in therapy and treatment.
Nearly three years later, the 20-year-old Yelland died unexpectedly in his E. Alameda home. Reports didn’t speculate on the cause of death, but one could imagine that they could be related to the accident in 1965.
August 16, 1974 – Elitch’s Cashier Killed
Just moments before closing, a 19-year-old cashier was shot and killed at the front gate of Elitch’s during a robbery.
Paula Rowe died in Denver General Hospital less than two hours after she was shot at the amusement park.
Hospital officials said that she was shot three times in the chest. Denver police told the Rocky Mountain News that a young white man was seen fleeing from the cashier’s booth after the 9:30 p.m. shooting.
A witness on the scene said they saw Rowe stagger out of the booth and scream, “My God, I’ve been shot,” before falling to the ground.
An off-duty police officer chased the potential suspect, but they were able to elude him on 35th and Sheridan.
The road to justice in finding Rowe’s killer was long and winding. Denver police investigators determined that the killer was John Abercrombie Jr., a convicted felon who was serving a prison sentence for the murder of an Arvada gas station cashier in 1975. He was charged with Rowe’s murder before his release due to an appeals court overturning his conviction in 1989, citing evidence that Abercrombie’s attorney was a drug user who presented an ineffective defense.
Denver’s prosecutors took Abercrombie to trial for Rowe’s murder, which led to three mistrials for reasons including witness tampering.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 1992 in exchange for a one-year prison sentence, while maintaining his innocence.
Abercrombie’s tale came to an unexpected end when he was found dead at the Arapahoe County jail. He was arrested for attempted robbery at a World Savings Bank in Aurora in 2000.
July 30, 1976 – Security Guard Dies on Mr. Twitter 1 Coaster
Denver Patrolman Paul D. Holland, who worked as an off-duty security guard at Elitch Gardens, fell to his death from the Mr. Twister roller coaster.
He was thrown from the front seat of the rollercoaster around 3:20 p.m. as it descended the final hill before rolling to a stop at the loading platform.
Holland was pronounced dead at Denver General Hospital. He was described as a rollercoaster enthusiast and was riding with an unidentified Elitch’s employee who was in the front seat with Holland, who remained in the car after he fell out of the rollercoaster car.
August 2, 1997 – Employee Dies Falling from Sidewinder
Death didn’t take a holiday when Elitch’s moved to its current Platte River Valley location, when 44-year-old Donna Ritter fell from the 61-foot platform of the Sidewinder.
The park was fined $32,000 following a six-month OSHA investigation, which cited the amusement park for failing to adequately protect its workers near the Sidewinder.
It was reported that the worker was legally drunk when she was at work and left the safe zone on the platform.
May 27, 2002 – Rider Falls off Rainbow
Four years later, 28-year-old John Garlick was killed when he fell from the Rainbow ride at the then Six Flags Elitch Gardens.
The Denver Post reported that the rider unbuckled his seat belt and worked his way under the lap-bar restraint. Paramedics said the man was mumbling when they arrived and was taken to Denver Health, where he died an hour after arrival.
