Joe Herrin, City Of Arvada Employee, Dies From Injuries Suffered In Mowing Accident
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4)- The City of Arvada employee who was pinned underwater while operating a mower last week has died. Joe Herrin died on Wednesday morning from injuries suffered in that accident.
The city said that Herrin was a "dedicated member of the City of Arvada's Parks Maintenance team" when he was involved in a serious accident at Jack B. Tomlinson Park, located at 51st Avenue and Garrison Street, on July 22. The mower he was operating overturned in Birdland Lake, pinning him underwater.
Firefighters and police with Arvada responded to the accident and were able to pull him from the water. Herrin was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center where he was in the intensive care unit. He passed away on Wednesday.
"These have been painful and sad times for the City of Arvada, our team members and citizens," said Arvada Mayor Marc Williams in a statement. "We are further saddened by the death of Joe Herrin, who was a valued member of our City team. We offer our sincere condolences to his wife and family, and his teammates and friends."
The City of Arvada said it will conduct an accident investigation to determine what happened and once that is completed, will "begin an internal workplace safety assessment to identify steps to improve workplace safety and prevent similar accidents in the future."
The city described Herrin as a "dedicated public servant" who joined the Parks Maintenance division in May 2018.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign in Herrin's memory.
