Search continues for WSDOT employee, car that went off Hood Canal Bridge

Published 1:57 pm Tuesday, May 17, 2016

HOOD CANAL — The state’s acting secretary of transportation said a WSDOT bridge maintenance technician’s personal vehicle breached a pedestrian cable railing on the lower deck of the SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge while leaving his work shift late May 16.

A search continued May 17 for the vehicle and the employee.

“Out of respect for our colleague’s family, we not share his identity until proper notifications occur,” Transportation Secretary Roger Millar wrote in a statement issued by WSDOT at 12:55 p.m. May 17. “The Washington State Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Kitsap County Fire and Rescue, and others are searching for our colleague and the vehicle. WSDOT is working with the Washington State Patrol and other investigating agencies to determine the circumstances around this incident.”

Millar wrote that employee assistance staff were at the bridge May 17 and would be there the next day, to “help anyone that may need it.”

“We all know our jobs involve potential danger. It’s heartbreaking when that danger becomes a reality and, in an instant, changes lives forever.”