SEATTLE — The family of a teenager who died at Seattle’s Gas Works Park last year is dropping their lawsuit against Seattle after the city finished the removal of dangerous climbing features, just two days before the family’s motion was set to be heard in court.
Last July, 14-year-old Mattheis Johnson died after falling from the ‘Crackling Towers’ structure in the park during a concert.
The Johnson family’s lawyers allege that the city has known about the structure’s “hidden dangers” and “decaying climbing elements” for years and failed to take the necessary steps to prevent injuries or deaths, adding that even after Mattheis’s death, the city determined parts of the towers were not structurally sound, and that removing them would promote public health and safety, but that the city “still failed to remedy the problem.”
On October 28, 2025, the Johnson family sued the city for nuisance and abatement. Court filings alleged that the city had “failed to discharge its duty to protect the public by admitting that the structures posed a danger but leaving them as is.”
On April 22, the city began to remove ladders, catwalks, and platforms from the structure. With just two days to spare before the Johnson family’s motion was set to be heard on May 29, the city completed the remediation, and the Johnson family filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the nuisance suit as moot.
According to Karen Koehler, lead attorney for the family, “The Johnsons’ nuisance lawsuit proves that a community does not need to stand by helplessly when a City abdicates its responsibility to protect its young. This family, still reeling from the loss of their beloved Mattheis, allowed our firm to bring a pro bono lawsuit to force the City to do its job. And it worked.”
Mattheis’ father released the following statement on behalf of the Johnson family:
<i>“I still don’t understand how the City punted and allowed a historical preservation committee to be in charge of a public safety matter. They all dragged their feet for years while kids were hurt and died. There was a plan in place for years, and they still wouldn’t make the changes, and now my son is dead. I don’t know how people stood on top of the hill at the park and watched kids climb around in a toxic waste dump for so many years. Gasworks was never a safe place, and the City knew it was unsafe and did nothing. Every day I miss my son. Having to wake up every day knowing he is dead is torture. Some days it feels like he is still here, and some days it feels like he never was here. His absence is completely overwhelming. I think about all the life he doesn’t get to have, and the life I don’t get to see. I wanted to see my son grow up. I will have to live the rest of my life not knowing what his story could have been. I will never be whole again. I love you Mattheis.</i>"
— Johnson family
Editor’s Note: Mattheis Johnson is the son of a KIRO 7 employee.