MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — Editor's note: The contractor involved in this incident is M.M. Framing, not M&M Framing as initially reported by the Washington Department of Labor and Industries..
A 40-year-old man died after a wall fell on him at a construction site where his family was building a new home.
Jack Chen, a dentist in Renton, had a wife and two sons in Newcastle.
Mercer Island police said it was a tragic accident and that there is no criminal investigation.
“He was doing what anybody normally does. He was having a new home that was being built, and was probably interested in the progress and stopped by to take some pictures,” said Commander Leslie Burns.
Burns said there were four workers putting up a wall when it started to slip.
“They all backed off immediately, and when they did so, the wall came down. Unbeknownst to them, the homeowner was there and probably came in at the last minute and was probably trying to help them,” she said.
A neighbor, Anastassa Konova, said she saw emergency vehicles pull up Wednesday night and saw people giving a man CPR.
“It’s so sad they were building a house, thinking about the future and were excited about it. And the fall that happened instead of that – it’s just such a tragedy,” Konova said.
Chen was transported to Overlake Hospital but did not survive.
Because Chen was not an employee of the contractor, a spokesperson for Labor and Industries said they will not be investigating his death.
However, they will be investigating the circumstances in which the wall fell.
“It’s a dangerous business, really,” said Heather Carabia.
Carabia works in the building business, but the company she works for was not involved in the construction of Chen’s house.
She said she remembers talking to Chen about his plans a while ago.
“It was really an exciting time for them. I think their kids were younger, and you know, I believe they were just moving to the island,” Carabia said.
She said builders and contractors need to remind homeowners that construction sites are very dangerous and that homeowners should be escorted around the property.