Parking drama at a popular trailhead in Summit County sent a woman to jail, when the mad dash for a parking spot led to charges of menacing and child abuse.
It happened at the upper Lily Pad Lakes trailhead in Wildernest. Summit County Sheriff reports two women were competing for a lone parking spot, when one of the women stopped in the middle of the road.
This woman emerged from her vehicle with a 24-inch metal shovel and brandished it like a weapon. She approached the other woman’s vehicle “in a threatening manner,” deputies report, which frightened two young children inside. The victim called 911 in a panic.
“Deputies responded and spoke to the woman with the shovel, who said they were competing for the same parking spot and admitted that she was trying to scare the woman,” the sheriff’s office writes.
The suspect did not attack the victim, the children or any vehicles, but sheriff’s deputies had seen enough. After interviewing everyone involved, they arrested the suspect and took her to jail for menacing and child abuse.
Lily Pad Lakes is one of the most popular trailheads in Summit. It often fills up on weekends, and sheriff’s deputies will write tickets for cars parked illegally.
One easy solution: Leave your car in downtown Silverthorne and take Summit Stage to the trailhead via the Wildernest loop. It runs every 30 minutes from 6:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., and every hour until the last bus at 12:15 a.m.