City issues one-page report on toppled tree that killed man in Seward Park

May 24--More than two months after a wind-toppled tree killed a man in Seward Park, the city's parks department Monday released a one-page investigation report that offers little new to what parks officials already have said about the fatal incident: That wind and wet soil caused the big tree to collapse.

"After the fact, we can say that the tree failed due to a combination of natural conditions including a combination of wet soils and very strong winds," the report concludes. "Parks did not know that the tree's condition presented any particular risk of failure prior to the incident."

The city's report also acknowledges the tree had "internal decay near the base," but it doesn't indicate whether or not that rot contributed to the tree's failure.

The report -- which amounts to a four-paragraph memo with a photograph of the tree on the reverse side -- noted the review found no record of city maintenance or reports of concern about the big Douglas fir that fell during a March 13 windstorm, crushing an occupied sport-utility vehicle parked nearby.

Eric Medalle, a 42-year-old married father of two and Pokémon artist, was killed instantly in the driver's seat. His toddler daughter, seated in the back, survived with minor injuries.

City arboriculturist Deborah Brown McGarry, and Jon Jainga, the department's urban forestry manager, sent the report in memo form to city parks Superintendent Jesus Aguirre on April 28.

The Seattle Times first asked for the report in late March. Parks officials said risk managers and city lawyers were still investigating and noted the report would be released when it was completed.

Asked Monday why it took the department nearly a month to release a one-page report after its completion, acting parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter said: "It just needed some review."

Shortly after the fatal tree collapse, an arborist who lives near Seward Park examined the tree's ragged stump and told The Times the tree obviously was rotten at its failure point, where it snapped and toppled during the storm. The arborist also noted the tree probably showed no outward signs of its internal decay, but an expert could have detected the rot by tapping the tree with a mallet or using other tools.

The city's most recent hazard tree-management plan for Seward Park didn't list the tree among 85 potentially hazardous trees in the park. But that 2005 plan also noted trees "in highly occupied areas of the park" should be checked annually, including by using "invasive evaluation methods," to assess sound wood in trees.

The city hasn't said when the tree was last inspected.

In the weeks after the incident, park officials initially didn't mention tree rot as a factor in the fir's collapse. Then-parks spokesman David Takami said strong winds and wet soils likely caused it to topple. When asked directly about whether the tree was in poor health, Jainga said: "No, it was in good condition, as far as we know."

The report released Monday indicates city officials later changed their minds.

"We now know that the tree had some degree of root decay," it says. "The extent of decay would not have been knowable without testing prior to failure."

Potter explained in an email Monday that Jainga advised that parks staff members couldn't see the rot when they first examined the tree March 13.

"When Parks staff moved the tree to the warehouse they and a third party consultant were able to examine it more closely and to identify the decay," the email said.

Medalle's auto-insurance company has filed a claim with the city, seeking $57,566 to cover the loss of Medalle's BMW X3, his funeral expenses and medical costs for his daughter. As of Monday, Medalle's family has not filed a claim for damages related to Medalle's death, a city spokeswoman said.

After the incident, the department acknowledged it has no policy for closing its parks before or during major weather events unlike some other park districts in Washington. The department planned to examine such closure policies in other metropolitan parks departments, a parks official said last month.

Lewis Kamb: [email protected] or (206) 464-2932. Twitter @lewiskamb

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