Bungling Parkour enthusiast falls 40ft down a chimney, has to be rescued by firefighters and is charged with trespassing

  • Dustin Hinkle says he was making an action video with friends when he fell 40 feet down the chimney of a downtown Denver, Colorado, apartment building
  • Hinkle said he and a couple of friends were making a Parkour video on the roof of the Denver City Lofts on Thursday when he fell through a chimney cover
  • Parkour involves moving from point-to-point using obstacles along the way
  • Hinkle plummeted down the old incineration chimney until a cable caught his fall
  • He was stuck for nearly two hours until firefighters broke through a brick wall to get him out 

By Associated Press and Zoe Szathmary For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:18 EST, 18 February 2017 | Updated: 00:13 EST, 20 February 2017

Dustin Hinkle has been charged with trespassing after he fell 40 feet down the chimney of a Denver apartment building

Dustin Hinkle has been charged with trespassing after he fell 40 feet down the chimney of a Denver apartment building

A 26-year-old man says he was making an action video with friends when he fell 40 feet down the chimney of a downtown Denver, Colorado, apartment building.

Dustin Hinkle told KCNC-TV that he and a couple of friends were making a Parkour video on the roof of the Denver City Lofts on Thursday when he fell through a chimney cover. 

Parkour involves moving from point-to-point using obstacles along the way.

Hinkle plummeted down the old incineration chimney until a cable caught his fall.

He says he thought he was going to die and he didn't believe in God until he survived the fall. 

Hinkle told KCNC: 'I didn't even believe in God before this. That's a real mind-opener right there. I fell 40 feet, and I'm alive.'

He was stuck for nearly two hours until firefighters broke through a brick wall to get him out. 

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Hinkle said that he and a couple of friends were making a Parkour video on the roof of the Denver City Lofts on Thursday when he fell through a chimney cover

Hinkle said that he and a couple of friends were making a Parkour video on the roof of the Denver City Lofts on Thursday when he fell through a chimney cover

Firefighters are pictured working in this image tweeted by the Denver Fire Department
He was stuck for nearly two hours until firefighters broke through a brick wall to get him out

He was stuck for nearly two hours until firefighters broke through a brick wall to get him out

Fire crews told ABC15 that about 28 firefighters worked to rescue Hinkle in the peak of the operation.

Hinkle told the station: 'I'll never get on top another building in downtown again. 

'My finance is pregnant with my kid right now; I didn't think I was ever going to see my child.'

He also revealed that he and his friends got onto the roof because one of the friends knew a person inside the building.

He denied to ABC15 that he had been trying to get into the building, saying: 'This was an accident, I didn't mean to do it, I almost died.' 

Hinkle says he thought he was going to die and he didn't believe in God until he survived the fall.

Hinkle says he thought he was going to die and he didn't believe in God until he survived the fall.

He revealed his injuries on his back to ABC15. He told the station: 'I'll never get on top another building in downtown again'

He revealed his injuries on his back to ABC15. He told the station: 'I'll never get on top another building in downtown again'

Online jail records show Hinkle is 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.

Denver Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Taylor told the Denver Post: 'It appeared to me to be a pretty small chimney.'  

Authorities booked Hinkle into jail and charged him with trespassing. 

Hinkle's pals, 23-year-old Jayce Anderson and 20-year-old Mary Jo McHugh, were both charged with trespassing and interference of a police officer, KCNC said.  

Jayce Anderson
Mary Jo McHugh

Hinkle's pals, 23-year-old Jayce Anderson (left) and 20-year-old Mary Jo McHugh (right), were both charged with trespassing and interference of a police officer

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