Pacific NW News Service
Online Since 1992
Online Since 1992
These will land on a lighthouse no matter where they find it
Rick Price
Rick Price
COMBINATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES LED TO TROOPER DEATH
-No Single Cause for Trooper’s Death-
(Olympia)—Detectives from the Washington State Patrol have determined that a combination of multiple factors led to the death of Trooper Sean O’Connell in a motorcycle collision in Skagit County earlier this year.
O’Connell’s motorcycle collided with a commercial vehicle known as a “box truck” shortly before 6:00 p.m. on May 31, at the intersection of Fir Island Road and Greenfield St. south of Mt. Vernon.
“There was no one single cause for this tragedy,” said Capt. Charles LeBlanc, commander of the Patrol’s Criminal Investigation Division. “There was a combination of circumstances that led to a horrific end.”
The investigation into the collision is still not complete, but detectives have determined the fundamental facts of what occurred.
Just prior to the collision, O’Connell had checked the length of a traffic backup on the Skagit River Bridge detour and was returning to where another trooper was directing traffic. He was moving up the shoulder, outside the fog line, passing to the right of the box truck.
As the two vehicles approached the intersection the box truck made a right turn onto Greenfield and the truck was struck on the right side by O’Connell’s motorcycle. The box truck driver did not see O’Connell’s motorcycle prior to initiating his turn. Speed was not a factor in the collision.
“The reason we have motorcycles is precisely because they can maneuver around traffic,” LeBlanc said. “"Passing on the right is something our troopers are trained to do in the performance of their duties, and like many of our duties, it involves risks."
Another complicating factor was the presence of a guard rail that cut off O’Connell’s avenue of potential escape. Perhaps most tragically, after striking the box truck O’Connell fell underneath it.
“A couple of seconds in time, or a couple of feet either way, and we’d likely have had a very different outcome,” LeBlanc said
LeBlanc said that O’Connell was not using his emergency lights and siren at the time of the collision, in keeping with agency training. Experience has shown that some drivers, upon hearing a siren, make sudden maneuvers to the right. If troopers are forced to pass on the right, they generally turn off their emergency lights and sirens to avoid being hit.
The truck driver agreed to a voluntary blood test for alcohol or drugs, and there is no evidence he was impaired in any way. He cooperated fully in the investigation. No citations have been issued and no charges are being sought.
The lack of egregious behavior by either party required detectives to rule out other possible scenarios before determining that the events were exactly as they appeared the first night: a tragic accident.
Sean O’Connell, badge #1076, is the 28th Washington State Patrol Trooper to be killed in the line of duty.
-No Single Cause for Trooper’s Death-
(Olympia)—Detectives from the Washington State Patrol have determined that a combination of multiple factors led to the death of Trooper Sean O’Connell in a motorcycle collision in Skagit County earlier this year.
O’Connell’s motorcycle collided with a commercial vehicle known as a “box truck” shortly before 6:00 p.m. on May 31, at the intersection of Fir Island Road and Greenfield St. south of Mt. Vernon.
“There was no one single cause for this tragedy,” said Capt. Charles LeBlanc, commander of the Patrol’s Criminal Investigation Division. “There was a combination of circumstances that led to a horrific end.”
The investigation into the collision is still not complete, but detectives have determined the fundamental facts of what occurred.
Just prior to the collision, O’Connell had checked the length of a traffic backup on the Skagit River Bridge detour and was returning to where another trooper was directing traffic. He was moving up the shoulder, outside the fog line, passing to the right of the box truck.
As the two vehicles approached the intersection the box truck made a right turn onto Greenfield and the truck was struck on the right side by O’Connell’s motorcycle. The box truck driver did not see O’Connell’s motorcycle prior to initiating his turn. Speed was not a factor in the collision.
“The reason we have motorcycles is precisely because they can maneuver around traffic,” LeBlanc said. “"Passing on the right is something our troopers are trained to do in the performance of their duties, and like many of our duties, it involves risks."
Another complicating factor was the presence of a guard rail that cut off O’Connell’s avenue of potential escape. Perhaps most tragically, after striking the box truck O’Connell fell underneath it.
“A couple of seconds in time, or a couple of feet either way, and we’d likely have had a very different outcome,” LeBlanc said
LeBlanc said that O’Connell was not using his emergency lights and siren at the time of the collision, in keeping with agency training. Experience has shown that some drivers, upon hearing a siren, make sudden maneuvers to the right. If troopers are forced to pass on the right, they generally turn off their emergency lights and sirens to avoid being hit.
The truck driver agreed to a voluntary blood test for alcohol or drugs, and there is no evidence he was impaired in any way. He cooperated fully in the investigation. No citations have been issued and no charges are being sought.
The lack of egregious behavior by either party required detectives to rule out other possible scenarios before determining that the events were exactly as they appeared the first night: a tragic accident.
Sean O’Connell, badge #1076, is the 28th Washington State Patrol Trooper to be killed in the line of duty.
Foster Fanning
Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin, who made his debut for Seattle in Sunday’s 41-20 trouncing of his old team, the Minnesota Vikings, said after the game that he had an appendectomy in November 2012 and had a tumor removed this past offseason.
Speaking at his first post-game press conference as a Seahawk, Harvin disclosed the operations while discussing the health problems he’s had throughout the past year. The maladies were previously unknown to the public.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2013/11/17/seahawks-percy-harvin-says-he-had-tumor-removed/
Speaking at his first post-game press conference as a Seahawk, Harvin disclosed the operations while discussing the health problems he’s had throughout the past year. The maladies were previously unknown to the public.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2013/11/17/seahawks-percy-harvin-says-he-had-tumor-removed/
Kathy Meader at Work
Margo Marshall photographer
Columbia Power has brought home a couple of big Canadian Electricity Association Safety Awards.
They've received the President's Award of Excellence for Employee Safety, and the Vice President's Award of Safety Excellence for Generation.
Columbia Power Communications Manager Bree Seabrook, says it's a big accomplishment for them.
The CEA awards focus on operating facilities, the Brilliant Dam and Generating Station and the Arrow Lakes Generating stations, but Seebrook says they also have an exemplary safety record at the Waneta Expansion project 3 years into the construction.
They've received the President's Award of Excellence for Employee Safety, and the Vice President's Award of Safety Excellence for Generation.
Columbia Power Communications Manager Bree Seabrook, says it's a big accomplishment for them.
The CEA awards focus on operating facilities, the Brilliant Dam and Generating Station and the Arrow Lakes Generating stations, but Seebrook says they also have an exemplary safety record at the Waneta Expansion project 3 years into the construction.
Suit For the Big Jump
Margo Marshall Photo
The
airport in syracuse, new york, has installed recently new exit portals,
meaning you're not allowed to just leave the airport. you have to enter
into a glass pod, wait for it to close behind you, then wait for an
automated voice and a
green light
. that's just to leave the building and walk out of the terminal. while critics say if the official arrival of the
police state
he. the airport says they're in lieu of
human security
eyeballing departing passengers, and they do not contain x-rays.
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