Date:  Thursday, February 14, 2008

Contact: Mike Cotten, WSDOT Project Director, (425) 405-1787 (Everett), cell (206) 200-7689
Sgt. Jerry Streick, Public Information Officer, Everett Police, (425) 257-8486

EVERETT – An employee of WSDOT contractor Atkinson-CH2M Hill was moving a piece of construction equipment in a work zone on BNSF property near 36th Street in Everett this morning when he discovered a transient covered with a blanket. The person did not appear to be alive.

The Everett Police Department and Snohomish County Medical Examiner were called immediately and are currently working to determine the cause of death. They are looking into whether the death is linked to the moving of construction equipment or something else. It could take several days before a determination is made.

“We are working with the Everett Police Department to determine what happened,” said Mike Cotten, WSDOT Everett HOV Project Director. “Any fatality on any construction site is upsetting to us - whether the person is a WSDOT employee, a contractor, a driver or a transient.”

In July 2007, a transient was killed by a WSDOT contractor clearing brush in a construction zone under I-5 in Seattle.

“We are taking this very seriously and plan to review the details of this incident to ensure the proper safeguards and safety measures were in place,” Cotten said.

The work is in conjunction with the I-5 Everett HOV project: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I5/HOVSR526toUS2/.

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