Death Of City Employee In Arvada: Investigation Underway

ARVADA, CO — An investigation is underway into the death of a city of Arvada employee after he was involved in an accident at a local park, city officials said.

Joe Herrin, a parks maintenance worker, was driving a mower Thursday at Jack B. Tomlinson Park, when the vehicle tipped over at Birdland Lake and trapped him underwater, city officials said.

Arvada police and fire crews were able to pull Herrin from the water and he was taken to Lutheran Medical Center's intensive care unit. He remained in the hospital in critical condition until he died Wednesday morning, his family confirmed.

"The City remains committed to the safety and well being of our team and providing a safe space for people to work," the city of Arvada said in a news release.

"The City has initiated a process to learn from the accident and help ensure it does not happen again. The Arvada Police Department is conducting an accident investigation to determine what occurred during the accident, as is normal procedure. Once the accident investigation is completed, the City will begin an internal workplace safety assessment to identify steps to improve workplace safety and prevent similar accidents in the future."

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Herrin joined Arvada's parks maintenance division in 2018 and was a dedicated team member, officials said.

The city will compensate Herrin's family with medical and lost-wage benefits, officials said. The city is also offering victim advocates and other mental health support to Herrin's family and members of the city team.

"These have been painful and sad times for the City of Arvada, our team members and citizens,” said Arvada Mayor Marc Williams.

“We are further saddened by the death of Joe Herrin, who was a valued member of our City team. We offer our sincere condolences to his wife and family, and his teammates and friends."

A GoFundMe page was launched to help Herrin's wife and family — you can make a donation here.