Updated Nov 20, 2009 - 11:33 am
DOT worker killed by falling tree
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The State Department of Transportation is mourning the loss of one its own, after a highway worker was killed by a falling tree branch while clearing a landslide.
42 year-old Neal Richards was working with several others Thursday to remove debris on Highway 101 west of Port Angeles when a large tree limb snapped and fell on him.
The DOT's Lisa Copeland says it was just a freak accident, "Whenever there's an accident or and incident we try and look at things we could have done differently or we could do better. Ans when you re-do this situation it really was up to mother nature."
Copeland says the entire department is devastated.
Richards was an 11-year Transportation Department veteran, working most recently as a maintenance lead tech in Port Angeles. Richards leaves behind a wife and two children.
Another man was killed while chopping down a tree in Stanwood yesterday.
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