Woodinville man charged in I-405 crash that killed worker

A 31-year-old Woodinville man was charged Tuesday with vehicular homicide in connection with a collision Friday on Interstate 405 in Kirkland that killed an employee on a state construction site.

Kyle Williams had been drinking at a bar in Kirkland before he drove around construction barriers set up as protection for the freeway work, the King County Prosecutor's Office said in filing the charges.

Kollin Nielson, 30, was killed in the crash and another worker injured. The men had been working at a job in the northbound lanes of I-405 at Northeast 116th Street.

Williams had been drinking gin-and-tonics at a bar in downtown Kirkland on the night of the death, a Washington State Patrol detective reported in an affidavit.

Williams was taken to Evergreen Hospital, where a blood sample was taken and a 0.20 percent blood-alcohol reading was recorded, the affidavit added. A reading of 0.08 percent is considered the intoxication level under state law.

Nielson, an engineer, and Brandon Overland, a second construction employee, were looking for a pavement marker to use as a reference point for asphalt-cutting work, the affidavit added, and were inside a construction zone that closed three northbound lanes.

Williams drove past construction barrels marking the closed lanes, the affidavit continued, and struck both Nielson and Overland. Nielson was thrown into the one open lane and was struck by another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

One witness to the accident told investigators Williams was traveling about 62 mph approaching the construction site, the affidavit said.

After striking the two workers, his Honda Passport continued north and struck a traffic-barrier truck, coming to rest against the median barrier, the affidavit said.

Williams, who has a history of traffic offenses, including citations for speeding and failing to obey a traffic signal, is to be arraigned July 2 and could face more than three years in prison if convicted.

No major changes are planned in construction-site safety practices as a result of the accident, however, officials said Tuesday, and there's no assurance that anything could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

"We don't want to get ahead of the investigations," said Melanie Coon, state Department of Transportation (DOT) public-information program manager. "We don't anticipate that there will be substantial policy changes."

There's also general agreement that working on roadways is a dangerous way to make a living, however, and efforts to assure safety will continue.

The DOT, for example, is running a series of radio ads over the summer on stations aimed at 15- to 39-year-old drivers, trying to underscore the message of being extra careful in construction zones, Coon added.

Peter Kiewit Construction, which employed Nielson, a 2003 Brigham Young University graduate with a wife and child, has assigned an accident-reconstruction specialist to review the tragedy and try to see if any changes might be made to improve safety, she said.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com.