Boy’s death at work area a ‘tragic accident’

With mounds of dirt and no fence to guard against curious, playful children, an unsecured construction site can lend itself to potential dangers.

Jesse McNerney, like other boys in his north Spokane neighborhood, couldn’t resist the temptation of fresh dirt across the street from his home on East Vanetta Street.

The Bancroft School student died Sunday, when a tunnel he built in the soft soil at the residential development collapsed on top of him. His dad told police that he’d repeatedly warned the 13-year-old not to play there.

“It’s a very tragic accident,” said Jim Frank, manager of Blackstone Homes LLC, adding, “You can’t protect against every possible accident.”

While there’s a government agency that protects the safety of construction workers on a site, there’s not one that protects the public’s welfare. For example, construction companies are not required to fence off or secure their sites.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has the authority to investigate workplace conditions and take corrective actions if unsafe conditions or practices exist, but that’s where the oversight ends, said Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the department. “It’s up to the owner to make sure the worksite is safe,” she said.

The Inland Northwest chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America offers safety audits to its members, said Ben Kaufman, the group’s local safety director.

“Safety and security are as much a cost of business as labor and materials,” said Kaufman. “If you have a site where you want to protect the public and yourself from liability, you need to fence it and post it ‘No trespassing’ or ‘Construction area: authorized personnel only,’ ” he said.

Such fencing can be rented.

“The piles of dirt were very small” in the residential development in north Spokane, Frank said. “We don’t believe fencing at this site would have made any difference. We extend our sympathy to the families and community out there.”

Meanwhile, an informal memorial for Jesse formed at the construction site on Monday. It consisted of red roses, plastic Easter eggs and half an action figure. An anonymous note – written in childlike penmanship and folded near the roses – began: “Goodbye, you shouldn’t be hearing it so soon.”

Frank said construction workers were leaving the memorial in place and protecting it.

Students at the alternative school where Jesse had been a student since February 2005 talked with crisis counselors and made cards for Jesse’s family on Monday, said Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman Kristy Mylroie. Teachers also were collecting money to help Jesse’s family.

Bancroft School Principal Teresa Hurliman wrote a note to send home to parents Monday night. It read, in part: “Jesse was a bright, curious child that enjoyed doing well in school. He enjoyed reading, writing creative stories and solving complicated math problems. He was a kindhearted young man who loved telling jokes.”