Mercer Island construction tragedy ‘illustrates fragility of life’

The story of a local man who died after a wall fell on him at the construction site where a new house was being built for his family is one that hits home for KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

Jack Chen, a 40-year-old dentist in Renton, was stopping by the site in Mercer Island where he was having a new house built when a section of wall came down on him Wednesday night.

The story resonates with Monson, who remembers the excitement he had while watching his own family’s dream house throughout construction.

“This just illustrates the fragility of life,” Monson said. “You go from this incredibly exciting time – you have a wife, you’ve got two little kids, you’ve been diligent enough to build a dental practice after all the years of education – and then, boom, like that, gone. It’s a horrifying story to me.”

Mercer Island Police Detective Joe Morris talked to Monson on Friday about the incident.

“It’s my understanding that he stopped by with a friend to show the friend the property,” Morris said. “It appears that the contractors were attempting to put up a section of wall and it was apparently a little bit too heavy for them. When they decided it was time to put down the wall and get out of the way they communicated that amongst themselves … However they weren’t aware, it appears, that the homeowner was right by them at the time.”

The sudden and tragic nature of the incident is having an impact on all involved.

“It’s a horrible tragedy for everyone,” Morris said. “The workers, they were able to get the man out from underneath (the wall) and they began CPR, and that was followed by the responding units that arrived. I think it shook everybody.”