The state of Washington has agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims brought by the family of Jonathan Rodriguez, a 21-year-old Evergreen State College student who died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside an on-campus residence last year.
Evergreen State College spokesperson Kelly Von Holtz declined to comment on the settlement out of "respect for Jonathan's family."
"The loss of Jonathan Rodriguez continues to be felt across our community," college President John Carmichael said in a statement provided Friday by Von Holtz. "Our focus remains on the safety, well-being and education of the students who have entrusted us with their education journey."
Members of Rodriguez's family did not respond to inquiries Friday.
Brianno Aho, a spokesperson for the state Attorney General's Office, confirmed there was a settlement agreement between the public liberal arts college and the Rodriguez family, but declined to comment further.
The $25 million will be split between Rodriguez's father, mother and sister, according to a copy of the agreement provided by the Attorney General's Office.
The morning of Dec. 11, Evergreen maintenance personnel repeatedly silenced and temporarily removed ringing carbon monoxide detectors from inside a modular apartment unit on the Olympia school's campus, according to a three-month Washington State Patrol investigation.
A significant amount of carbon monoxide was leaking into the unit from a tankless water heater that had been improperly installed there one week prior, investigators learned.
But the workers, assuming the alarms were faulty and there was no leak, allowed Rodriguez and two female students, then 19 and 20, back inside the unit. A maintenance worker called the Fire Department more than 12 hours later after responding to one of the unit's detectors ringing again and seeing two people "in distress," the Washington State Patrol said in a March news release.
Rodriguez was found dead and the other two students were found unresponsive. The female students and an Evergreen police officer who broke down the door and performed CPR on them were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a December news release and Thurston County court records.
"This was a tragic yet avoidable situation," Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said in the agency's statement. "When you hear the alarm, get out. Treat each event with the urgency it deserves. Lives depend on it."
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.
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