DENVER – A man who was practicing parkour ended up stuck in a chimney for about two hours Thursday afternoon, authorities said Friday.
Dustin Hinkle, 26, was booked at the Denver jail on suspicion of trespassing following the accident.
Hinkle told Denver7 in a jailhouse interview it was an accident, and that he was sorry.
"Do you regret what you did?" asked Denver7 reporter Jennifer Kovaleski.
"Yes, very very much. I'll never get on top another building in downtown again," he said. "My finance is pregnant with my kid right now; I didn't think I was ever going to see my child."
Hinkle was rescued from a two-by-three-foot hole after falling about 30 to 35 feet down a chimney at the Denver City Lofts.
He said he and some friends were trying to make a skateboarding and parkour video when the incident happened.
"I only dropped maybe a foot and a half as soon as my feet touched the top of it, I fell straight through it," he said.
The idea behind parkour is to move as quickly as possible from obstacle to obstacle and essentially use the world as your playground. It has taken off on YouTube.
"Once you get on top of the buildings, I mean you're standing there and you feel like you're on top of the world," said Hinkle.
Hinkle said one of his friends knew someone in the building, which is how they gained access to the roof.
"We're you trying to get inside?" asked Kovaleski.
"No, no." said Hinkle. "This was an accident, I didn't mean to do it, I almost died."
Two others -- Mary McHugh, 20, and Jayce Anderson, 23 -- were also booked on suspicion of trespassing and interference with a police officer.
1742 Champa UPDATE: crews working to free a man trapped in a chimney. pic.twitter.com/Lr9e3cP8Sy
— Denver Fire Dept. (@Denver_Fire) February 16, 2017
1742 Champa UPDATE: man out of the chimney. Extent of injuries unkn. Patient conscious/ breathing upon removal. pic.twitter.com/oIpRlnTv7F
— Denver Fire Dept. (@Denver_Fire) February 16, 2017
Fire crews at the scene said at the height of the rescue, about 28 firefighters were working inside the buildings to free Hinkle.
Hinkle was eventually released after the Denver Fire Department hoisted him up the hole.
"What would you want to say to the people who own that building?" asked Kovaleski.
"I'm extremely sorry and I'll do whatever it takes to help fix it, I've done construction, I mean if they want me to volunteer to help fix what I caused I have no problem doing that," said Hinkle.
