An Arvada city employee died Wednesday after an accident last week when the lawnmower he was riding overturned and pinned him underwater.
Joe Herrin, who worked for the city’s parks and maintenance crew, was mowing at Jack B. Tomlinson Park at 51st and Garrison streets Thursday when the mower overturned and pinned him under the water of Birdland Lake.
Firefighters and police responded and pulled Herrin out from the water; he was hospitalized and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He died early Wednesday morning.
Arvada Mayor Marc Williams offered condolences to Herrin’s family in a news release Wednesday. The city’s statement said officials would “learn from the accident to ensure it does not happen again.”
Herrin had been a city employee since May 2018.
Herrin’s family has launched a to cover medical bills and other costs; it had raised about $44,000 by Wednesday.
The water tower in Olde Town Arvada will be illuminated in green in Herrin’s memory, the city of Arvada tweeted Wednesday.
The water tower will be illuminated in green in memory of our colleague Joe Herrin, who passed away earlier today following a tragic accident.
— City of Arvada (@cityofarvada)
