Evergreen settles with family of student who died from carbon monoxide poisoning

Evergreen State College confirms it has reached a $25 million settlement with the family of a student who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in campus housing last December.

Investigators said a tankless water heater had been improperly installed, causing the leak. Court documents indicated campus staff treated carbon monoxide alarms that “went off” as an issue with the alarm system instead of an actual leak.

Investigators said the first alarm sounded at 5:41 a.m. on Dec. 11. From there, a resident of Evergreen State College housing called the college dispatch service, which contacted residential maintenance. Then Washington State Patrol (WSP) spokesman Chris Loftis said the students did what they’re supposed to do when hearing an alarm: they left the building.

WSP: Carbon monoxide alarms sounded, but Evergreen State students were sent back in

However, students were sent back inside the buildings. Three students were later found unconscious and 21-year-old Jonathan Rodriguez could not be revived.

“They did get out,” Loftis said. They were sent back in. The maintenance department made the mistaken decision that it was an alarm problem and not a carbon monoxide problem.”

In August, two contractors were charged in the death of Rodriguez.

According to court documents from Thurston County Superior Court, Frank McCutcheon, 53, and Brett McCutcheon, 32, were both charged with second-degree manslaughter after investigators concluded they failed to follow an installation manual and incorrectly installed air intake and exhaust venting for a new tankless water heater inside an on-campus student apartment.

“A significant carbon monoxide leak occurred due to improper installation of a tankless water heater,” Loftis said.

More details: 2 contractors charged in carbon monoxide death of Evergreen college student

According to the WSP’s timeline of events, maintenance workers attempted to clean and clear the carbon monoxide devices throughout the morning. They managed to silence the alarm panels twice, only to have them go off again. They removed carbon monoxide devices from several bedrooms and the alarms went silent at 10:11 a.m.

WSP said the alarm company arrived in the early evening to reset the system.

“When they did that, they found that the alarms re-sounded again and they started looking in the windows of the (housing) unit, and unfortunately, they saw the three students who had succumbed to the gas,” Loftis explained.

By then, it was 8:10 p.m.

Evergreen State College declined KIRO Newsradio’s request for an interview but called Rodriguez’s death “a devastating loss.”

The college said it is improving training and updating protocols for responding to alarms.

Contributing: Heather Bosch and Luke Duecy, KIRO Newsradio

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