The college and state Attorney General’s Office confirmed the settlement payout to KING 5.
On December 11, 2023, Rodriguez, 21, and two other students were found unconscious in a modular housing unit. Rodriguez died, while the other two students survived.
A campus police officer was also sent the hospital and survived.
Investigators blamed faulty installation of a tankless water heater in the housing a week before the poisonings. They also said that despite alarms repeatedly going off, campus maintenance crews failed to recognize there was a carbon monoxide leak.
One of the students hospitalized due to the leak – Rodriguez’ girlfriend – told investigators that maintenance crews had told her it was OK to return to her unit despite the sounding of a carbon monoxide alarm. Within hours Rodriguez was dead and his girlfriend and roommate were hospitalized.
According to Thurston County prosecutors, Frank McCutcheon, 53, and his son Brett McCutcheon, 32, did not properly follow instructions when installing the unit by failing to properly connect exhaust pipes, allowing for the leak of the colorless, odorless, deadly carbon monoxide.
They were charged July 11 with manslaughter in the second degree, with prosecutors alleging that their negligent actions caused Rodriguez’ death. An investigator said their actions were a “gross deviation” from what reasonable people would have done.
The McCutcheons entered not guilty pleas to the charge and face a trial in November.
The college has made several changes since the incident.
“Since the tragedy in December, Evergreen immediately stopped using housing units that used propane for heat or hot water, ensuring a tragedy like that which took the life of Jonathan Rodriguez never happens again,” Dr. John Carmichael, president of The Evergreen State College, said in a previous statement.
New housing units will also open for students when school resumes Sept. 30.
KING 5 reached out to Rodriguez’ family for comment and their attorney said they are grieving the loss of their son and are asking for privacy.
Two service technicians who installed the tankless water heater — Frank “Chuck” McCutcheon, then 53, and his son, Brett McCutcheon, then 32 — pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter charges after Thurston County prosecutors accused them in September of negligently causing Rodriguez’s death by improperly installing the appliance.
Frank McCutcheon’s defense attorney, Eric Pilon, said the Dec. 4 installation was done properly, but something happened during the week after causing the heater’s interior pipe fitting to get pulled out or separation from the exterior exhaust pipe.
The father and son are scheduled to go to trial in November, Thurston County Superior Court records show.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Prosecutors have criminally charged a second contractor following the carbon monoxide poisoning death of a 21-year-old student from The Evergreen State College.
On December 11, 2023, Jonathan Rodriguez and two other students were found unconscious in a modular housing unit.
Rodriguez died, while the other two students survived. A campus police officer was also sent the hospital, but survived.
Investigators blamed the faulty installation of a tankless water heater in the housing a week before the poisonings.
According to Thurston County Prosecutors, Frank McCutcheon, 53, and his son Brett McCutcheon, 32, did not properly follow the manual instructions when installing the unit by failing to properly connect exhaust pipes, allowing for the leak of the colorless, odorless, deadly carbon monoxide.
They were both charged July 11 with manslaughter in the second degree, alleging that their negligent actions caused Rodriguez’s death. An investigator said their actions were a “gross deviation” from what reasonable people would have done.
Both McCutcheons entered not guilty pleas to the charge and face a trial in November.
They were not taken into custody, but they cannot speak about the incident to each other, and they have to refrain from installing any devices that generate carbon monoxide.
The college has made several changes since the incident.
“Since the tragedy in December, Evergreen immediately stopped using housing units that used propane for heat or hot water, ensuring a tragedy like that which took the life of Jonathan Rodriguez never happens again,” said Dr. John Carmichael, president of The Evergreen State College.
New housing units will also open for students when school resumes Sept. 30.
“The Evergreen (State College) tragedy has striking similarities to the deaths of Murray Church and Gail Amundsen, who died of CO poisoning in their Point Roberts home on Thanksgiving 2021. Their deaths were also due to the improper installation of a gas appliance; in their case, a condensing boiler installed in their newly constructed home…no CO detectors had been installed by the electrical contractor…despite the fact that CO detectors have been required in new and remodeled residences since 2011.”
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Two contractors have been charged after being accused of negligently causing the death of an Evergreen State College student who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in December of 2023.
Jonathan Rodriguez, 21, was found unconscious in student housing on the evening of Dec. 11 and was later declared dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Two other students were also found unconscious inside the building, were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and later recovered.
Investigators with the Washington State Patrol pointed to a poorly installed tankless water heater as the cause of a carbon monoxide leak in the building.
A forensic engineering expert found that the boiler had been installed without a proper source of “outside combustion air” for the unit, leading to a higher-than-normal carbon monoxide concentration. In addition, the exhaust piping was not sealed, allowing highly contaminated exhaust air to spill into the utility room.
Frank, 53, and Brett McCutcheon, 32, were the technicians who installed the water heater in early December. They were both charged July 11 with manslaughter in the second degree, alleging that their negligent actions caused Rodriguez’s death.
Frank McCutcheon had a court appearance Aug. 6.
When the water heater was in operation, carbon monoxide levels rose to as high as 1,294 parts per million in the residential area of the building. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration set the permissible exposure limit for carbon monoxide as 50 parts per million over eight hours.
The forensic engineer concluded that the McCutcheons’ installation of the water heater was “negligent” and “outside the accepted practice” in the HVAC field.
“That deficient installation caused the death of Jonathan Rodriguez by introducing into the residence levels of carbon monoxide over 20 times the acceptable limit,” court documents read.
Investigation report on the student death in December at Evergreen State College found that:
“Alarms on the CO detectors went off during the early-morning hours of Dec. 11, but instead of being treated as a real CO event, investigators said those alarms were treated as a faulty detector and/or a fault of the fire alarm system.”
“…the CO came from a significant leak from a newly installed tankless water heater in the inside the utility room of that unit.”
“…a lack of training and/or understanding of the functions of the fire alarm/CO systems by Evergreen employees and residence maintenance personnel.”
“The money will be used to cover the cost of a Washington State Patrol investigation into the death of the student, the cost to relocate students into other housing, and to make repairs to campus housing…”
“Campus officials said a contractor working in the Modular Apartments housing area of campus responded to carbon monoxide alarms earlier Monday, the college said in its statement. It wasn’t clear if this was the area where the affected students lived.
The McLane Black Lake Fire Department responded to the scene and conducted carbon monoxide testing in the impacted area on Monday evening, the school said.”
OLYMPIA, Wash. — One student is dead, and two others are injured after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at Evergreen State College Monday evening.
“This is a tragedy, and we grieve for our students and families,” said Evergreen President John Carmichael.
A contractor working in the Modular Apartments housing area of the campus responded to carbon monoxide alarms earlier in the day on Monday, according to campus officials.
Campus police were called after a student residence manager was not able to contact a few students. An Evergreen police officer broke down their door around 8:30 p.m. and performed emergency CPR on the students.
“The alarms were going off for a couple of minutes. The police showed up, then the fire department showed up,” said Kris Pennington, a college senior who lives next door. “Then they pulled someone out on a stretcher and it looked like they were trying to do CPR on them for a while.”
Two students and the responding officer were taken to local hospitals. Campus officials said their symptoms were “consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.”
The officer was hospitalized, but released Tuesday morning, according to Evergreen Police Chief David Brunckhurst.
The Thurston County Coroner’s Office (TCCO) responded to reports of a death at the college at 9:45 p.m. Jonathan Rodriguez, 21, from Dupont was found dead when they arrived, according to TCCO. The suspected cause of death is carbon monoxide poisoning, but TCCO will release an official cause after their investigation.
Washington State Patrol (WSP) is now trying to pinpoint the source of the toxic fumes.
“Washington State Patrol is looking into it. We’re going to find that out. That’s going to be the focus of our investigation,” said WSP spokesperson Chris Loftis.
Pennington said the alarms frequently trigger and speculated on one possible source.
“From what I’m aware of the only source of carbon monoxide would be the water heaters,” Pennington said.
McLane Black Lake Fire Department also responded to the scene and did carbon monoxide testing in the impacted areas. Campus officials contacted all Evergreen students in nearby campus housing to make sure they were safe Monday night.
“We’re all in shock. This is devastating news because the safety and care of our students is our top priority,” said Dexter Gordon, the executive vice president at the college. “We are grieving with our families, especially the bereaved family, and then the families of all of our students affected and then our staff who are our first responders.”
“Trace levels” of carbon monoxide were found Tuesday in a Hood College dorm that is now closed for the rest of the semester, the school said.
One student said she was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Smith Hall, a dorm next to the chapel at Hood, was evacuated twice since Friday after problems with a boiler, according to students in the dorm.
The Hood College website says 135 students live in the dorm.
Smith Hall was first evacuated in the early morning hours of Friday when a boiler was emitting smoke, students said. They were allowed to return Friday night.
However, the college evacuated the building again Tuesday morning after it “became aware of one student who was diagnosed with carbon monoxide exposure,” Mason Cavalier, a spokesman for the college, wrote in an email.
“Some trace levels of carbon monoxide were found in a couple of spaces in the building. These levels were slightly elevated, but within a range that is deemed acceptable,” he wrote.
He did not provide details on what caused the elevated levels of carbon monoxide.
Sarah Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services, wrote in a text message Wednesday that Fire and Rescue responded and found elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the boiler room. Fire and Rescue did not take anyone to the hospital.
Kris Ventura, a freshman social work major, and Victoria Rego, a freshman biology pre-veterinary sciences major, said they went to Frederick Health Hospital with other friends Tuesday morning to get tested for carbon monoxide exposure after the college recommended students do so if they were concerned.
Both said they had been experiencing flu and cold symptoms, as well as lightheadedness and headaches, since Thursday.
By later in the day Tuesday, many of the residents had gone to a hospital to get tested, either in Frederick or at hospitals in their hometowns, Ventura said.
A lot of people posted updates on the social media app Snapchat, Ventura and Alix Parks, another Smith Hall resident and freshman social work major, said.
According to Cavalier, the college worked with FHH to arrange for students to get tested for carbon monoxide exposure if they wanted to. To the college’s knowledge, no students who were tested were admitted to the hospital, he said.
The school also is not aware of any students with carbon monoxide poisoning, because the test results were confidential, he said.
At the FHH emergency room, Ventura said, a doctor told her that her blood levels showed mild carbon monoxide poisoning. She was put on oxygen, and given medication for nausea and the headache, which cleared her symptoms.
Rego said a doctor told her she had carbon monoxide exposure, but it wasn’t bad enough that she needed to be put on oxygen.
Both Ventura and Parks said another student had carbon monoxide poisoning and went to a hospital where he lived. The News-Post was unable to reach the student to corroborate that account.
Parks said on Wednesday that her symptoms, most notably a headache, began Tuesday morning.
Parks said she spent the weekend at a relative’s house because she didn’t feel safe in Smith Hall. She returned to the dorm before the Tuesday morning alarm.
She went to FHH later on Tuesday night because her headache was worsening.
Because the emergency room was busy, she was put on oxygen first, then later had her blood tested, she said. She said that when her blood was tested, there weren’t elevated levels of carbon monoxide in her blood.
Parks and Ventura are currently living at their homes in Frederick or with family friends in Frederick. Rego, who is from Massachusetts, is staying at the Clarion Inn until her flight on Dec. 13.
She said she’s there with about 24 other students who need to stay for the short-term. Students who were planning to stay on campus over winter break were moved to different dorms, she said. The college is trying to figure out transportation and food for the students until they need to leave.
Cavalier wrote in an email that students staying on campus were provided with alternative accommodations. Asked about the students’ account of their hotel stays, Cavalier said he could not immediately get information about that.
The first evacuation, on Friday, happened around 3 a.m., students said. A boiler was emitting smoke.
Students were moved to the Whitaker Campus Center while authorities went through the building to determine whether the building was safe to reenter.
However, it wasn’t until hours later — around 8 a.m. — that students received a specific update, that they had a small window of time to grab enough things in their rooms for a day, they said.
After a hectic night and no place to stay or sleep, Ventura said, she was seeing her dormmates find anywhere they could sleep.
“You would walk in the library and there … would be people sleeping in chairs. There were people sleeping on tables wherever they could find,” she said.
They were allowed back in dorms Friday night, the students said. They had been unable to access their rooms and belongings for 16 hours, Rego said.
But on Tuesday morning, the fire alarm in the dorm went off again, around 7 a.m.
The college set off the fire alarm “out of an abundance of caution” after learning that one student was exposed to carbon monoxide, according to an email from the college to students.
Students said the college reported that the boiler was malfunctioning, but has not provided more details.
After the second fire alarm on Tuesday, the college closed the dorm and told students it would be closed until the spring semester, which starts in January.
With finals ongoing, the college said in its emails that faculty and staff were notified of the students’ situations, and that it would provide alternative spaces for those who wanted to stay on campus, such as other residence halls.
“…the leak was identified after some residents of Barger-Zartman Residence Hall said they were experiencing symptoms aligned with increasing levels of carbon (monoxide). The leak was later confirmed in the boiler room of the building.”
“Despite not having carbon monoxide detectors present in most residential buildings, on the Stony Brook Department of Student Community Development website, for information about renting off-campus, the university states that ‘every room used for sleeping should have its own smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.’”
“’I didn’t even have time to get anything. I’m still wearing slippers,’ freshman Aidan Gentile said.
He was in the study lounge and said he noticed having difficulties breathing.
Gentile said he saw students fainting earlier in the week.
‘I had a lot of pain in my chest, which is like a common symptom of like anxiety, so that’s what I assumed it was. And I also was really light-headed like earlier in the weekend,’ student Alayna McKim said.
University Housing staff said they became aware of the problem when students came to the front desk complaining of headaches, dizziness and other symptoms.“
“The most frequent question we have received is ‘why don’t the residential buildings at Miami have carbon monoxide detectors as normally is required by building code?’ Under state building and fire codes, if there is no carbon monoxide produced in a building OR if a carbon monoxide source is sealed and exhausted directly outdoors without entering sleeping quarters, monitors are not required.”
“The Nov. 18 carbon monoxide leak that forced the evacuation of Miami University’s Hillcrest Hall dormitory “violated the trust” students have in the university to provide a safe living environment, the school’s Institutional Response Team said in a campus-wide email Thursday, Dec. 2.”
“It is the basic responsibility of our university to protect its students, and when a randomly-purchased $15 carbon monoxide detector does more to save lives than an administration, that means something needs to change around here.”
“The fuel (propane) is believed to be behind both the Webb and Berne explosions, as well as the source of the carbon monoxide that sent 53 people from a Catskills sleepaway camp to local hospitals.”
“State officials already planned to demolish the building when the leak occurred. Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Director Judy Bradshaw told the Register that the building did not have a carbon monoxide detector, even though the Legislature had passed a law the previous summer requiring state buildings to have them. Bradshaw said at the time that she was not aware of the law.”
“When you book your first post-COVID-19 vacation rental, do you know if the hotel you book or home you rent requires CO alarms? The Fire Protection Research Foundation conducted a literature review to summarize existing requirements for installation of CO detection devices and consolidated the available and pertinent non-fire CO incident data.”
“Building owners should be especially concerned about brick chimneys…Inspect the chimneys for loose bricks. If the chimney provides ventilation for a fireplace or appliances such as furnaces or water heaters, make sure it still vents…also encourage building owners to ensure they have a working carbon monoxide detector.”
No deaths and no injuries at this sorority house at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln…they had CO alarms, and they evacuated to fresh air and called 911 when they heard them going off. A model of what all CO exposure incidents should look like.
CARBON MONOXIDE CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE: Dozens hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning at at Camp Dodge Law Enforcement Academy in Iowa…NO carbon monoxide alarms in the dorm…
CENTER CITY – February 1, 2010Several hundred students at the Art Institute of Philadelphia were forced from the 14-story building before dawn Monday after carbon monoxide detectors went off. The dorm is home to about 550 students.
Fire officials say three women had to be taken to hospitals following the evacuation.
School spokeswoman Carise Mitch says about a half-dozen students complained of illness following the evacuation. Two went to hospitals and were later released.
The city ordered the building closed until the source of the gas is found. That could take several days.
Mitch says the students will be housed at hotels until they can return to the dorm.
Two restaurants on the building’s ground floor are also shut down.
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