A Snohomish County father is on life-support after a terrible accident.
He fell, face-first off a bridge and into Deception Creek east of Skykomish.
His family says the bridge needs new safety upgrades. There is a pedestrian bridge for visitors across the creek.
The 26-year-old man decided to go up to the bridge along Highway 2 instead, leaned in and lost his footing, according to family members.
Steven Michael Klasse's family prays he may one day hold his baby girl again.
"It hurts. It's painful. He's the love of our lives. He's got a daughter looks just like him," said his girlfriend Megan Meadowcroft.
Klasse was with friends and family at Deception Falls last Saturday when he decided to walk across the bridge for a better view.
"There's no up-high railing and so he's walking and he lost his footing and just,” said Meadowcroft signaling that he fell in.
Klasse fell more than 30 feet.
He was swept downstream into Deception Creek.
Bystanders managed to pull him out after his leg got stuck on logs. Klasse was rushed to Harborview Medical Center.
“He's not paralyzed but he's got three major brain injuries," said his mother Terri Harrison.
"He's got blood and water in his lungs. He’s got two broken ribs, a broken femur, shattered pelvis, shattered knees," added Meadowcroft.
At Deception Creek, there is a bridge and a trail with a railing, but there’s also an area people use to climb up along Highway 2.
People like Daniel Snoozey. He studied architecture and noticed a safety concern when we noticed he climbed up to the grassy area to capture sounds of the falls and traffic.
"It's lower than your center of gravity,” said Snoozey. Yeah, you're actually in order to see it, you're already off balance."
While there is no sidewalk along Highway 2, there are also no signs telling people to stay off.
"It almost suggests that people would naturally kind of want to take a peek over it, but it's not safe," said Snoozey.
Klasse's family wants more to be done to ensure others don't endure this kind of pain.
"He puts everyone before himself,” said Meadowcroft. “The first time he looked at his daughter I never believed in love at first sight."
Klasse’s family says he had his first surgery today to fix the injury to his femur. Everything went well, but he’s got a long road ahead and may never fully recover.
Cox Media Group
