WSP Seeks Public's Help in Trooper's Death on I-5 Reroute

The Washington State Patrol Major Accident Investigation Team is seeking witnesses to a Friday, May 31 traffic collision on the I-5 bridge reroute in Skagit County that resulted in the death of a State Patrol trooper.

The fatality collision which occurred at around 5:42 p.m. near the intersection of Fir Island Road and Greenfield Street in Conway, Skagit County. As a result of the collision, a 38 year old trooper was fatally injured.

Trooper Sean O’Connell had been with the agency for 16 years, was married with a son age seven and a daughter age five.
 
“We not only lost a great trooper, we lost a great human being,” Batiste said. “Sean was known around the department and the community for both his sense of humor and sense of compassion.”
 
Trooper O’Connell was participating in a traffic control detail in connection with the detour around the Skagit River Bridge collapse. Details of the fatal collision are under investigation, but it is known that O’Connell had checked the length of a vehicle backup and was returning to a traffic control point when the fatal collision occurred.
 
Batiste confirmed that the other driver was cooperating completely with the investigation, and that neither drugs nor alcohol are thought to be a factor.
 
“We have no indication that this is anything other than a tragic accident,” Batiste said.
 
Memorial services will be developed according to the wishes of Trooper O’Connell’s family, and those arrangements are pending.
 
Detectives are seeking witnesses to the collision and any event leading up to it.  If you saw or heard anything or know someone that did, please call M.A.I.T. Detective Sergeant Jerry Cooper at (360) 805-1192 or Detective Ed Collins at (360) 805-1194.